1 Party Funding -
Oral evidence from the Lord Chancellor on the role of the Attorney
General
1. In the course of our inquiry into Party Funding[1]
Mr Andrew Tyrie asked the Lord Chancellor the following question
relating to any possible prosecutions arising from the police
inquiry into allegations of the sale of public honours and other
matters:
".. can you give the public an assurance that
the Attorney General will not interfere in any way with the conclusions
of the DPP and that the DPP would be permitted, were there to
be something brought to him, to take any decisions for prosecution
wholly independent of the Attorney General?"
The Lord Chancellor replied:
"Of course. It is a matter for the DPP and
the Crown Prosecution Service to make decisions in relation to
this in the normal way and, of course, the Attorney General would
not interfere in the normal course of decisions being made."[2]
2. In the light of later public statements made by
the Attorney General about his duties in relation to decisions
about prosecutions arising from the police inquiry, the Chairman
of the Committee wrote to the Lord Chancellor seeking clarification
of his answer. We received a letter in reply from the Lord Chancellor
and also subsequently received from the Attorney General further
correspondence which we now report to the House. We draw particular
attention to the Attorney General's statement in his letter of
7th December in relation to his duties (including decisions
about prosecutions) which fall outside the usual ambit of collective
responsibility:
"However, I know the Lord Chancellor well understands
that he was not in a position to give an 'assurance', as you
have termed it, as to how I would act. No other Minister, however
distinguished or senior, has the ability to bind the Attorney
General in how he exercises his role."[3]
3. We have announced a wider inquiry into the constitutional
role of the Attorney General, but consider that the House would
wish to see this correspondence in advance of that inquiry.
1 Constitutional Affairs Committee, Party Funding,
First Report of Session 2006 - 07, HC 163 -I & -II Back
2
Q 97 Back
3
See page 6 of this report Back
| 
