Question to the Attorney General:

To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Attorney General received a letter from the Chairman of the Criminal Cases Review Commission on the issue of disclosure of evidence; and whether that correspondence can, and will, be published.

The Attorney General’s Office received a letter regarding disclosure in criminal proceedings from the Chairman of the Criminal Cases Review Commission on 7 July 2016. The text of the letter is published on their website ccrc.gov.uk. It highlighted that particular attention would be drawn to the issue in their annual report published later that month.

In April 2016 the Attorney General wrote to the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorates supporting a proposal for a joint thematic inspection of disclosure as one of the most important issues in the trial process and a vital component of a fair trial.

The CCRC letter was drawn to the attention of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of the Crown Prosecution Service to assist preparation for the joint inspection of disclosure which was carried out between January and July 2017.