---

Criminal Evidence (Witness Anonymity) Bill

I always speak for myself. I am perfectly happy to go away and have a think about what the hon. and learned Member for Torridge and West Devon (Mr. Cox) says. I am not convinced that he is correct, but I am willing to take another look at what he has had to say. Let me swiftly move through the other amendments. Amendment No. 22 would import into subsection (6) a requirement for the court to assess the reasonableness of the witness's fear. I put it to the Committee that the objective is achieved just as effectively by the present wording. It is not clear why fear on the part of another person needs to be added, although my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon made some remarks about his amendment. The risk of harm to another is already caught if it causes fear to the witness. Obviously, the witness may feel that family members would be threatened if they gave evidence. Realistically, if a witness's spouse is in fear, the witness himself or herself might share some of that fear for another family member. The significance of fear in this context is the extent to which it inhibits the giving of evidence; it does not relate to whether there is cause for fear, objectively or subjectively. Fear that is experienced only by a third party, and not by the witness, is completely immaterial to whether an anonymity order ought to be granted in a particular case. One or two people have queried whether the reference to serious property damage in subsection (6) ought to be there. The protection of property is not the reason for the provision. It is there because a risk of serious damage would in most cases be likely to have an effect on the witness's safety, and certainly on his perception of his safety. That may in turn affect the witness's willingness to give evidence. For that reason, the subsection as drafted covers a reasonable fear on the part of the witness that there would be serious damage to property, as well fear that he or another would suffer death or injury. Amendment No. 17 would remove the reference to the requirement for the court to have regard to the witness's fear that there would be serious property damage. To the extent that such a fear is likely to have a bearing on the witness's willingness to give evidence, we believe that it is appropriate for the court to take that into account when deciding whether an order is necessary. There has been some discussion of the opinion of the Attorney-General of New Zealand, who considered the compatibility of New Zealand's ““fair trial”” provision in that country's Evidence Act 2006 with the corresponding provision in clause 4(3)(a) of the Bill. He concluded that"““it would be an exceptional case where the risk of property damage, without any accompanying risk to persons, could be the basis for a witness anonymity order””." We agree that the number of cases in which that would be appropriate might be limited, and that the appropriateness would be assessed by the courts on a case-by-case basis, but the vital point is that the Attorney- General of New Zealand did not suggest that the provision itself was incompatible with a fair trial. We are satisfied that the provision is compatible with convention requirements. Some cases involve the safety of the witness or another person, and others will involve serious damage to property and engage the safety of the witness or another person. There may be others in which the risk is to property only—for example, threats to blow up the family home—and the risk is destitution for the witness's family, rather than physical injury, but that is not a reason to remove those threats completely from the coverage of anonymity orders. It is down to the judge's discretion, on the facts at the end of the day, and that is how it ought to be. Amendment No. 32 provides that the property mentioned in clause 4(6)(b) has to be the witness's own property or that of a close relative, and my hon. Friend the Member for Hendon gave clear reasons for that. I understand his objective in requiring a close link between the property and the witness, but we are not persuaded that it is necessary, as it might prevent the clause from working properly. The condition is that the court is satisfied that the order is necessary to prevent serious damage to property, and the court must have regard to the witness's fear that such serious damage would occur if he were identified. I have just about managed to scoot through the amendments, and I hope that on that basis, the wording in the clause will be accepted.