Under section 364 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 the Director of Service Prosecutions is appointed by His Majesty the King. The term of the current incumbent, Jonathan Rees KC, came to an end on 31 October 2025.

I can inform the House that His Majesty has appointed Mary Cowe...

Under section 364 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 the Director of Service Prosecutions is appointed by His Majesty the King. The term of the current incumbent, Jonathan Rees KC, came to an end on 31 October 2025.

I can inform the House that His Majesty has appointed Mary Cowe...

My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Louise Sandher-Jones) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Under section 364 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 the Director of Service Prosecutions is appointed by His Majesty the King. The term of the current incumbent, Jonathan Rees KC, came to...

My hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence (Louise Sandher-Jones) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

Under section 364 of the Armed Forces Act 2006 the Director of Service Prosecutions is appointed by His Majesty the King. The term of the current incumbent, Jonathan Rees KC, came to...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the next inspection of the (a) Service Police and (b) Service Prosecuting Authority by the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate is.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the next inspection of the (a) Service Police and (b) Service Prosecuting Authority by the Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate is.

Letter dated 11/01/2024 from Andrew Murrison MP to John Healey MP in response to Written Parliamentary Questions regarding how many cases of sexual assault, sexual harassment and rape resulted in charges and Court Martials in connection with incidents involving Armed Forces personnel serving at Army colleges, and how many cases in each of the last five years have resulted in criminal sentences. 2p.

Letter dated 11/01/2024 from Andrew Murrison MP to John Healey MP in response to Written Parliamentary Questions regarding how many cases of sexual assault, sexual harassment and rape resulted in charges and Court Martials in connection with incidents involving Armed Forces personnel serving at Army colleges, and how many cases...

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the Service Prosecuting Authority spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much the Service Prosecuting Authority spent on equality and diversity training in the 2022-23 financial year.

I feel almost Gilbertian in this Gilbert and Sullivan-esque interchanging of roles.

My Lords, this statutory instrument consists of three changes to the rules that apply to the service courts: to provide an overriding objective for court martial, the Service Civilian Court and the Summary Appeal Court; to give the Director...

I feel almost Gilbertian in this Gilbert and Sullivan-esque interchanging of roles.

My Lords, this statutory instrument consists of three changes to the rules that apply to the service courts: to provide an overriding objective for court martial, the Service Civilian Court and the Summary Appeal Court; to give the Director...

My Lords, in supporting this draft SI and accepting that revision is not an option, I still have a couple of points to raise. The overriding objective introduced in all three types of service court seems, on first reading, to be almost entirely motherhood and apple pie, or should almost...

My Lords, in supporting this draft SI and accepting that revision is not an option, I still have a couple of points to raise. The overriding objective introduced in all three types of service court seems, on first reading, to be almost entirely motherhood and apple pie, or should almost...

My Lords, like the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig of Radley, on reading the overriding objective as outlined in the statutory instrument, my sense was that it appears in some ways to be motherhood and apple pie. It would seem self-evident that an overriding objective should be that cases...

My Lords, like the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig of Radley, on reading the overriding objective as outlined in the statutory instrument, my sense was that it appears in some ways to be motherhood and apple pie. It would seem self-evident that an overriding objective should be that cases...

My Lords, I presume that prior to the very welcome rules female board members were never present. Was that the case? I am looking at Rule 3A(1). How often do these boards sit? One presumes it is as events dictate, but how many are there in the average year? What...

My Lords, I presume that prior to the very welcome rules female board members were never present. Was that the case? I am looking at Rule 3A(1). How often do these boards sit? One presumes it is as events dictate, but how many are there in the average year? What...

My Lords, I do not wish simply to make things up. I have very little to say on this. However, the amendments to the rules that the Government have brought forward are important. I agree with the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig, the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, and my...

My Lords, I do not wish simply to make things up. I have very little to say on this. However, the amendments to the rules that the Government have brought forward are important. I agree with the noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig, the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, and my...

My Lords, I was in the process of welcoming the Armed Forces (Service Court Rules) (Amendment) (No. 2) Rules 2022, in particular their adoption of the recommendations of His Honour Shaun Lyons—we are pleased about that.

I was also congratulating the Minister on the MoD’s including the European Convention on Human...

My Lords, I was in the process of welcoming the Armed Forces (Service Court Rules) (Amendment) (No. 2) Rules 2022, in particular their adoption of the recommendations of His Honour Shaun Lyons—we are pleased about that.

I was also congratulating the Minister on the MoD’s including the European Convention on Human...

My Lords, once again we have had an interesting debate. In many respects this has been a more technical SI than the earlier one, but none the less, it has generated points of interest and I will do my level best to address them.

The noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig,...

My Lords, once again we have had an interesting debate. In many respects this has been a more technical SI than the earlier one, but none the less, it has generated points of interest and I will do my level best to address them.

The noble and gallant Lord, Lord Craig,...

Just to be clear, is the Minister saying to the Committee that the Judge Advocate-General has the say and, regardless of whether the Secretary of State agrees with him, the Judge Advocate- General wins?

Just to be clear, is the Minister saying to the Committee that the Judge Advocate-General has the say and, regardless of whether the Secretary of State agrees with him, the Judge Advocate- General wins?

That is what I am saying. Indeed, I add to that by observing that it would be profoundly undesirable if the Secretary of State, as a government Minister, were getting involved in the discharge of justice under what should be an independent criminal justice system, albeit within the services justice...

That is what I am saying. Indeed, I add to that by observing that it would be profoundly undesirable if the Secretary of State, as a government Minister, were getting involved in the discharge of justice under what should be an independent criminal justice system, albeit within the services justice...

This is a really important point, which, as I said, the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, and I were discussing. If somebody outside this Committee read our proceedings and saw the word “lay” they would assume that these people are members of the

public, even though the instrument deals with non-service...

This is a really important point, which, as I said, the noble Baroness, Lady Smith, and I were discussing. If somebody outside this Committee read our proceedings and saw the word “lay” they would assume that these people are members of the

public, even though the instrument deals with non-service...

I thank the noble Lord. We are sometimes guilty of using vocabulary in the environment with which we are all familiar. These are lay members who are not legally qualified; they sit as a presence roughly comparable to a jury. The noble Lord is right that they are “lay” not...

I thank the noble Lord. We are sometimes guilty of using vocabulary in the environment with which we are all familiar. These are lay members who are not legally qualified; they sit as a presence roughly comparable to a jury. The noble Lord is right that they are “lay” not...

Lords motion to consider. Agreed to on question.

Lords motion to consider. Agreed to on question.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff there have been in the Service Prosecution Authority in each year since 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff there have been in the Service Prosecution Authority in each year since 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual budget for the Service Prosecution Authority was in each year since 2010.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual budget for the Service Prosecution Authority was in each year since 2010.