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Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill

My Lords, before I turn to the government amendments in this group, I hope that it will assist the House if I attempt to respond to Amendment No. 86B, moved with great expertise by the noble Lord, Lord Thomas of Gresford. By that, I mean that he has great expertise in this field, which goes back many years, and I pay tribute to it. Amendment No. 86B would remove the proposed £500,000 maximum compensation payment. The proposal in the Bill as it stands is to cap compensation at £500,000 following a miscarriage of justice. This would mean that maximum compensation paid by the state was the same as that paid to victims of crime under the criminal injuries compensation scheme. Of course we accept that the circumstances of victims of miscarriages of justice and victims of crime are different. That is also true of one victim of crime from another victim of crime or one victim of a miscarriage of justice from another victim of a miscarriage of justice. They are broadly analogous in that the impact on victims’ lives in terms of the damage and hardship suffered, whether physical, mental or both, can be devastating. At the moment the difference in the compensation awarded can be stark. A victim of violent crime can receive a maximum of £500,000 from the Government no matter what the extent of the injuries suffered and a victim of a miscarriage of justice can receive unlimited compensation even in circumstances when they have spent little or no time in custody. The average state compensation paid to a victim of crime under what is generally considered one of the most generous victims’ compensation schemes in the world is £5,500. The average paid to a victim of a miscarriage of justice is about £250,000.