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Criminal Evidence (Witness Anonymity) Bill

That is entirely right, although of course confusion does currently arise when an independent or special counsel is appointed in the context of disclosure, for instance. The query that the Solicitor-General raised can arise in that situation. Amendment No. 2, which is based almost word for word on the New Zealand Act, clarifies the point precisely. Under it, the independent counsel would answer to the judge, address the considerations and conditions set out in clauses 4 and 5 and respond to specific queries from the judge. In other words, he would be acting as a minister of justice, as the hon. and learned Member for Medway said. In one sense he would represent the defendant's interests, but he would also represent those of a court that needed to be better informed. Putting that role in statute would both respond to the point that my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Folkestone and Hythe (Mr. Howard) identified, and satisfy the anxieties that the Solicitor-General expressed.