| Previous Section | Back to Table of Contents | Lords Hansard Home Page |
Lord Williams of Mostyn: My Lords, strictly on the noble Lord's supplementary remarks on Amendments Nos. 94 and 95, we believe that the restrictions may be revoked or varied in the interests of justice implicit in subsection (10), which provides that a restriction may be revoked if the grounds for it have gone, and explicit in subsection (9), to which I referred earlier.
Lord Cope of Berkeley: My Lords, in that case, I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
[Amendments Nos. 81 to 88 not moved.]
Lord Williams of Mostyn moved Amendment No. 89:
On Question, amendment agreed to.
[Amendments Nos. 90 and 91 not moved.]
Lord Williams of Mostyn moved Amendment No. 92:
On Question, amendment agreed to.
[Amendments Nos. 93 to 96 not moved.]
Clause 46 [Restrictions on reporting directions under Chapter I or II]:
Lord Cope of Berkeley moved Amendment No. 97:
The noble Lord said: My Lords, this amendment refers to reports relating to directions under the earlier Chapters I and II. As I understand it, the clause prevents the reporting of the fact that there is a reporting restriction. It will be a little difficult to report a reporting restriction without reporting something which is restricted by the reporting restriction, if your Lordships follow me. But at the same time, it does not seem to me that it is obvious that the press should not be able to report a reporting restriction. Therefore this amendment may commend itself to your Lordships.
I realise that the Government believe that it is necessary to restrict reporting restrictions but I am not sure why. I beg to move.
Lord Williams of Mostyn: My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord for raising this matter. The short explanation is that the use of special measures should not be reported until after the trial is over or has been abandoned. If those matters are reported before or during the trial, there is a danger that the accused's case may be prejudiced. In many cases, that is a devastating harm to those who are already vulnerable. That is the reason for it.
However, I remind your Lordships that the court may lift or vary the extent of any restrictions imposed under this clause. Therefore, I believe it is necessary to have that prohibition until after the trial is over or has been abandoned.
Lord Cope of Berkeley: My Lords, the Minister did not make clear whether there is a power analogous to
Lord Williams of Mostyn: My Lords, the answer is that one needs to draw a distinction between reporting restrictions and a special measures direction. There is no restriction on reporting the fact that reporting restrictions have been restricted but there is a restriction on reporting the fact that a special measures order has been made. That is the difference.
Lord Cope of Berkeley: My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for making that clear and I beg leave to withdraw the amendment.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
Lord Carter: My Lords, there is general agreement that if we go straight through, we should be able to finish the Report stage no later than eight o'clock. There are a number of speakers on the Unstarred Question and it would not be fair to keep them beyond eight o'clock. If I have your Lordships' agreement that we can finish by eight o'clock or a little earlier, we should now go straight through.
Lord Cope of Berkeley: My Lords, we shall do our best to facilitate that.
Schedule 2 [Reporting restrictions: miscellaneous amendments]:
Lord Williams of Mostyn moved Amendment No. 99:
The noble Lord said: My Lords, this amendment seeks to make it explicit that before anyone is charged with a sexual offence under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992, no one, other than the alleged victim, can instruct that information should be published which would lead the public to identify the individual as the complainant in a sexual offence.
The 1992 Act contains a 'two tier' test. The first imposes reporting restrictions over the identification of a complainant of a sexual offence from the moment of allegation. The second provides for reporting restrictions over the identification of a complainant of a sexual offence after someone has been charged.
The Act provides that the courts are allowed a discretion to lift the restrictions which effectively anonymise the complainant only once someone has been accused of the offence. The court can lift the restrictions on the following grounds: before the trial, to encourage witnesses to come forward without whom the defence case is likely to be substantially prejudiced; and during the trial, to avoid a substantial and unreasonable restriction upon the reporting of proceedings, and to serve the public interest.
The Act also provides that at any time after an allegation is made the complainant himself or herself can give written permission which waives any redress against the publication of information which leads to their identification.
I know that the media are concerned that the amendments will have the effect that they will no longer be able to publish details of incidents in ways that actually help the police because we have widened the list of details about the complainant which should not be published if it serves to identify the complainant to the public as a complainant of a sexual offence.
Sometimes printing details of the victim and his or her movements at the time of the alleged offence, without disclosing that it is a sexual offence that is being investigated, can help to jog memories or encourage witnesses to come forward. When this type of coverage is organised--coverage for which the police are often most grateful--the victim may be identified, but often the exact details of the offence which occurred are not.
Once a suspect has been charged, and the details become known, what is known as a "jigsaw identification" occurs quite often and putting two and two together to make four is sometimes possible. In cases where there has been such collaboration between the police and the press, special care is needed in reporting the fact that a suspect has been charged. We have no intention of disturbing any arrangements between the police and press in those circumstances.
The amendments made to the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992, like those made to Section 49 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, are simply intended to bring the terminology used to describe reporting restrictions in that legislation in line with the terms used in this Bill, in other words, to bring them up to date. I believe that this is of assistance to the press in producing clarity and consistency. I beg to move.
On Question, amendment agreed to.
Lord Williams of Mostyn moved Amendment No. 100:
The noble Lord said: Amendments Nos. 100 and 101 extend the list of offences covered by the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 in order to protect women who are abducted against their will for the purposes of marriage or unlawful sexual intercourse from identification.
The amendments add Section 17 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956--of abduction of a woman by force--and Section 53 of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act--abduction of a woman against her will--which still applies to Northern Ireland. These offences were omitted from the original Act, but they contain a sexual element which means that it is appropriate to include them. Section 17 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 is included in the list of sexual offences for the purposes of the Bill in Clause 57(1)(b). I beg to move.
On Question, amendment agreed to.
Page 34, line 10, leave out from ("so") to end of line 11 and insert ("and the public interest in").
Page 34, line 17, at end insert ("or
(b) it is satisfied--
(i) that the effect of those restrictions is to impose a substantial and unreasonable restriction on the reporting of the proceedings, and
(ii) that it is in the public interest to remove or relax that restriction;
but no excepting direction shall be given under paragraph (b) by reason only of the fact that the proceedings have been determined in any way or have been abandoned.").
Leave out Clause 46.
Page 52, leave out line 8 and insert ("For subsection (3) substitute--
"(3) This section--
(a) does not apply in relation to a person by virtue of subsection (1) at any time after a person has been accused of the offence, and
(b) in its application in relation to a person by virtue of subsection (2), has effect subject to any direction given under section 3.").
Page 52, line 27, at end insert--
("( ) In subsection (2), after paragraph (m) insert--
"(n) section 17 (abduction of woman by force)."").
Next Section
Back to Table of Contents
Lords Hansard Home Page