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Criminal Evidence (Witness Anonymity) Bill

I propose to my right hon. and learned Friend an example from my own experience. In a case involving the alleged export of a nuclear firing system to Iraq in the early 1990s, the identity of a very senior nuclear weapons designer was deemed by the Old Bailey judge to be an issue to be withheld from the defence. In some circumstances, it may be in the public interest for the identity of somebody of great seniority and significance to the state, such as the designer of a nuclear weapon for this country, to be concealed, although that person's expertise is required in a criminal case.