Criminal Cases Review Commission
Debate between Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede and Lord Beamish(1 week, 6 days ago)
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Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Lab)
The ministry has provided additional funding for the CCRC to look at closed cases where advances in forensic science could now provide new evidence. The CCRC is actively working with the Forensic Information Databases Service to ensure that it can effectively track and revisit unmatched DNA profiles. The CCRC is in the process of amending its case management system so that it can identify and monitor any cases for relevant scientific, medical or other developments—for example, when DNA testing does not produce a profile.
Lord Beamish (Lab)
My Lords, the CCRC currently has 10 cases before it of postmasters who used the Capture system, a forerunner of the Horizon software system at the Post Office. Those cases date back to the early 1990s; those individuals are often now in ill health and have been waiting for justice for too long. What pressure can my noble friend put on the CCRC to review those cases as a matter of urgency? Otherwise, those individuals will not get justice before many of them pass away.
Criminal Cases Review Commission
Debate between Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede and Lord Beamish(3 weeks, 5 days ago)
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Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Lab)
As I said in my first Answer to the noble and learned Lord, the intention is to appoint an interim chair who will conduct a review of the way the CCRC is working, and that will be done in collaboration with the ongoing review by the Law Commission. I listened to the evidence that was given to the Select Committee last week. Clearly, how it chooses to conduct its affairs is a matter for the CCRC itself. A new interim chair is to be appointed, probably for a period of about 18 months; that, together with the Law Commission review, may result in changes at the CCRC.
Lord Beamish (Lab)
My Lords, the CCRC is about people’s lives. There are currently 20 cases before it for the Post Office Capture victims—this was the system before Horizon. The last Government agreed to overturn the convictions of Horizon victims. On Capture, this Government have referred victims to the CCRC. Many of these are elderly people—these cases go back to the early 1990s. What more can be done to speed this up, because some of these people are going to die before they get justice?
Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede (Lab)
The Ministry of Justice has increased the CCRC’s budget year on year since 2020-21. The budget for 2025-26 has been set at £10.1 million, which is an increase of 38% since 2021-22. We recognise the need for increased resource, a recommendation made by the report to which the noble and learned Lord, Lord Garnier, put his name. That report made other recommendations, which will be taken into account in the review that will be undertaken.