Further letter from Rt Hon Geoffrey Hoon
MP, Leader of the House of Commons (P 36)
Thank you for the letter from your Clerk of 14 November
seeking any further comments I might have for your Committee's
inquiry into the application of the sub judice rule to
proceedings in coroners' courts. As I indicated in my letter of
14 November to your predecessor as Chairman, the Government looks
forward to the results of the consideration of the issue by the
two Houses envisaged in the earlier report.
As Leader of the House I will of course be following
the inquiry. I recognise the importance of balancing the proper
functioning of coroners' proceedings with the needs and duties
of Members and of the House. In terms of the substance of the
particular issue, I think it would be best at this stage for me
to leave it to my Right Hon Friends the Attorney General and the
Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, to whom you have
written separately, to respond in more detail. I await the outcome
of your deliberations with interest and look forward to considering
in due course whether changes to the operation of the sub judice
rule might be appropriate.
January 2006
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