Appendix
Letter from John Yates QPM, Deputy Assistant Commissioner,
Metropolitan Police Service to Dr Tony Wright, Chairman of the
Public Administration Select Committee, dated 27 March 2006
RE: Honours (Prevention of Abuses) Act 1925
I refer to our telephone conversation of Friday evening
concerning the above. For the record, in that conversation I registered
my concerns in relation to the proposed Public Affairs Select
Committee meeting commencing on Tuesday 28th March 2006. I indicated
to you that many of the individuals that you wished to hear evidence
from may be the very people that could be central to our criminal
inquiry, either as witnesses or suspects. My concerns were that
your scrutiny could be viewed as an abuse of process in terms
of fairness in any future potential criminal trial. I have consulted
closely with senior lawyers from the Crown Prosecution Service
about this matter. They share my concerns and are happy for them
to be articulated in this letter.
I do, of course, recognise that our enquiries are
at a very early stage and that charges are not imminent. I therefore
concede that these matters cannot be considered sub-judice at
this stage. I also recognise the authority of Parliament to consider
and scrutinise these matters under Article 9 of the 1689 Bill
of Rights.
I would however ask you to take into account the
recommendations contained in the report by the Joint Committee
on Parliamentary Privilege dated 9th April 1999 (HC 214 1998/1999).
In this report, the Joint Committee concluded that "corruption,
a serious and insidious offence, could only be dealt with effectively
by using the police and the courts. Prosecution through the courts
is the only credible remedy and the only credible deterrent for
any briber". Whilst it may be too early for us to widen our
investigation into the arena of corruption, I certainly have not
ruled this out. I would argue, therefore, that the principle articulated
in the Joint Committee report remains a valid one for you to consider.
I am more than happy to assist you personally on
these matters and would be content, if necessary, to provide a
briefing around the structure and Terms of Reference of my investigation
to the Committee if you thought this would be helpful.
I would be very grateful if you could inform me,
at your earliest convenience, whether and to what extent you intend
to continue with your inquiry.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if there are
any other matters that require clarification.
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