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Written Question
HM Prison and Probation Service: Disclosure of Information
Monday 7th March 2022

Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) plans to disclose their relevant records to Mr Paul Cleeland, as promised by the chief executive of HMPPS in her letter to the hon. Member for Folkestone and Hythe dated 20 December 2021.

Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

HM Prison and Probation Service attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of correspondence from MPs, either directly or on behalf of their constituents.

The delay in responding to the Hon. member and his constituent is due to an outbreak of Covid-19 in the team dealing with the request. I have asked for the records to be made available as soon as possible. The team expect to complete the review and disclose the records by the end of March 2022.


Written Question
Telecommunications: Crime
Monday 15th November 2021

Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report by the Law Commission, Modernising Communications Offences, published in July 2021, which recommendations in that report he plans to accept.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The Law Commission’s Report – Modernising Communications Offences – was sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Recommendations on new offences that fall to the MoJ are being carefully considered. We will set out our position on these matters in due course.


Written Question
Criminal Cases Review Commission
Tuesday 7th January 2020

Asked by: Damian Collins (Conservative - Folkestone and Hythe)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the results of any review that has been carried out by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, or other public authority within his responsibility, of criminal cases in which Mr John McCafferty was involved in providing forensic evidence for the prosecution.

Answered by Wendy Morton

Section 23 of the Criminal Appeals Act 1995 prevents the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) from disclosing any information obtained by the Commission in the exercise of any of their functions (specified exceptions do apply).

In line with legislation, following a Case Review the CCRC will provide all applicants with a Statement of Reasons, as to why the case was referred or not referred to the Court of Appeal.

The Ministry of Justice is not aware of any other reviews undertaken by other public authorities that concerned Mr McCafferty. Mr McCafferty previously worked for the Forensic Science Service (FSS). The FSS was a government owned company, sponsored by the Home Office, which was dissolved in 2012.