Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what date the Miscarriage of Justice Service received the application from Mr David Bryant of Christchurch for compensation; what the timeframe is for a decision to be made on that application; and if he will make a statement.

The Miscarriage of Justice Application Service (‘MOJAS’) received Mr Bryant’s application on 8 March 2018.

Each application is necessarily fact specific and enquiries need to be undertaken so that the Secretary of State has all the required information before making a decision. This involves, amongst other matters, contacting external agencies (such as the Crown Court, Court of Appeal or Crown Prosecution Service) to confirm the facts for each application and obtain documentation such as judgments and court files.

Over the past weeks, MOJAS have been carefully reviewing all the requisite material in Mr Bryant’s case in line with the requirements of section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. We remain hopeful of reaching a decision within the next three months.