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Criminal Evidence (Witness Anonymity) Bill

Thank you very much. I am most grateful to the Solicitor-General. [Interruption.] I have argued that already. I am sorry; I am not being very sensible this evening. I shall get right back on stream. I would now like to talk about amendment No. 22. This amendment does apply to clause 4(6), and it deals with the difference between an objective and a subjective test. We believe that the point at issue is whether the person who alleges anxiety should have a trump card that destroys the ability of others to resist the application. Our courts are for all and are, and must be seen to be, impartial. The criminal law must do justice and ensure fairness. Of course opinions vary and the facts will be different in each case, but one of the bedrocks of our justice system is that our courts and judges must be dispassionate, disinterested and consistent in the application of the law to the facts of a given case. Objectivity is perhaps the one word that describes those imperatives. Any change to the law, judge made or by statute, must ensure that the application of the change is based objectively, rather than subjectively to suit one party or another. When we discuss a statute that proposes parliamentary licence for the giving of anonymous evidence in criminal trials, we must be rigorous in ensuring that it is the judge—the arbitrator and guarantor of fairness under the law—who decides and assesses where the balance should lie between, on the one hand, the public and private interest that the defendant should be tried in open court on evidence that is properly and lawfully introduced into the trial and, on the other hand, both the competing private interest of a vital witness that he should be protected from death or serious injury when he performs his public duty to give evidence of a crime and the public interest that serious criminals should be brought to justice. That is not an easy task, but it is an essential one. Article 6 of the convention reminds us of our solemn duty to ensure fairness in our trials. Convenience for the police, the prosecuting authorities and the administration of the courts are not the passwords to justice. Therefore, we say that where a witness says that he believes that he will suffer harm if he gives evidence in open court without the protection of a witness anonymity order, his word alone is not enough. The court must decide. The witness cannot produce the ace of personal apprehension to trump the right of the citizen to a fair trial. The Bill as drafted tips the balance too much in favour of anonymity. That needs to be redressed.