Tackling Corruption

Catherine McKinnell Excerpts

Tuesday 11th December 2012 Westminster Hall

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Leigh.

Sunday 9 December marked the United Nation’s international anti-corruption day. This year, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, called on us all to pledge to do our part by cracking down on corruption, shaming those who practise it and engendering a culture that values ethical behaviour. Those words are poignant when considering the general feeling in the public, who have been protesting about fairness and ethical behaviour, particularly among multinational corporations.

According to the Christian relief and development agency, Tearfund, corruption hits the poorest sectors of society the hardest. It reduces access to and quality of essential public services, such as education and health care, prevents resources from reaching their intended destinations, undermines trust and harms economic growth. In Africa alone, the cost of corruption has been estimated at nearly £100 billion a year, or £3,000 a second, representing 25% of the continent’s GDP.

Tackling corruption is particularly important to ensure that money, whether tax, investment or aid, is used for economic growth and to tackle poverty. For example, the 2009 extractive industries transparency initiative report showed that in Nigeria there was a discrepancy of $800 million—equivalent to the health budget—between what companies said they pay to the Government and what the Government said that they received. That Government are rightly working to recover that money.

As co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on anti-corruption—my fellow co-chair, my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow Central (Anas Sarwar), is also in the Chamber—I say that we need much greater focus on this issue. The Prime Minister made it clear recently that, together, transparency and fighting corruption are part of

“‘the golden thread’ of conditions enabling open economies and open societies to thrive”.

He announced, rightly, that he is putting transparency at the heart of the G8. In addition, the UK Government have set themselves the ambitious target of becoming the most open, transparent Government in the world. We will hold the Prime Minister to that statement.

The Bribery Act 2010 is a strong piece of legislation. The Department for International Development, created by the previous Labour Government, came top in the recent ranking for aid transparency. The UK Government came third in the 2010 open budget index for transparency in budgeting. The UK is also showing strong leadership in pushing for effective transparency legislation in the European Union, so that oil, gas and mining companies publish what they pay to Governments. However, 2013 is an opportunity to continue this progress, because as chair of the G8 and co-chair of the Open Government Partnership, the UK has a unique opportunity to harness the energy and commitment of Governments, the private sector and citizens to ensure that resources are used to tackle poverty.

The UK Bribery Act has, in many ways, set the standard globally. Now, effective implementation of the Act requires sufficient resources for enforcement. The Serious Fraud Office is responsible for enforcing the new legislation, but its budget has been cut from £52 million in 2008, to approximately £33 million in 2012 and it is expected to be further reduced in forthcoming years, which is a huge worry. Without sufficient funding, the SFO will not be able to do its job of enforcement, however good the legislation may be. Given the importance of the issue at stake, I hope that the Minister will give assurances that the SFO will have sufficient funding to implement the Bribery Act effectively. What steps are the Government taking to ensure that that happens?

With at least 11 Departments and public bodies having the remit of tackling corruption, there is clearly a need for cross-departmental co-ordination and an overarching anti-corruption strategy. The Prime Minister’s commitment in June 2010 to make the then Secretary of State for Justice, now the Minister without Portfolio, the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), the Government’s anti-corruption champion was welcome. However, the role lacks clarity and after the summer’s reshuffle we heard little more about it. The all-party group recently wrote to the Prime Minister about that and, although it was reconfirmed that the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe will remain anti-corruption champion, we have yet to see further details about the remit of the role or any cross-Government strategy to tackle corruption at home and overseas. Will the Minister confirm when further details of the role of anti-corruption champion will become available and when we can expect the production of a cross-departmental anti-corruption strategy?

Some 3.5 billion people live in countries rich in oil, gas and minerals. Revenue from those sectors is often one of the greatest sources of wealth generated within developing countries. In 2010, for example, exports of oil and minerals from Africa were estimated at $333 billion, nearly seven times the value of international aid to the continent, which is currently valued at $48 billion. However, such wealth provides little benefit to the people living there, especially the poor, in part due to lack of transparency.

The UK has shown leadership in Europe in pushing for strong EU transparency legislation, for oil, gas and mining companies to publish what they pay, and has received cross-party support in the UK. We in the all-party group wrote to the then Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Minister, the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb), to show our support for strong Government leadership in Europe on the matter. Nevertheless, more can be done. The recently passed US Dodd-Frank Act, together with the EU transparency legislation, will cover all extractive industry companies listed on the US and EU stock exchanges, including many from G8 and G20 countries, such as Australia, Canada, China and Brazil.

[Anas Sarwar (Glasgow Central) (Lab)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. It is said that developing countries lose three times as much in tax revenues as they receive in aid. We need to rush this legislation through so that we can start developing such countries and they can start raising their own income to allow their economies to prosper.

[Catherine McKinnell]

That is the crux of the issue. The Government have rightly supported the previous Labour Government’s calls for committing 0.7% of our GDP in aid to developing countries, but until we get the international structures right—the transparency—to ensure that that money goes to the right people and is spent in the right places, and that countries are able to protect their own resources and tax revenues, we will not make the progress that we would like and aid will not have the greatest effect. To win the argument on many fronts, work must be done on the anti-corruption agenda and increased transparency to improve the efficacy of that aid, which we are rightly committed to as a country.

Much more can be done. The UK has been a leader in spearheading and supporting the extractive industries transparency initiative, a mechanism by which companies report the payments that they make to Governments, host Governments report their revenues, and any discrepancies can be resolved. That has led to large differences being identified between payments made and revenues reported and, as a result, money has been recovered, as shown in the Nigeria example that I mentioned. However, despite supporting the EITI, the UK is not yet one of its 36 current members; only one G20 country is. Although many warm noises are coming from the G8 and G20 Governments on the transparency agenda, it is questionable whether we can provide global leadership without putting our own houses in order. What plans do the UK Government have to use the G8 to encourage other rich countries to pass transparency laws and to reach global standards on transparency for oil, gas and mining companies? Is there an existing timetable that the Government are using to sign up to the EITI?

Open and transparent budget systems promote development by enabling citizens in developing countries to help their Governments to formulate budgets that reflect public priorities, to reduce money lost due to corruption, and to hold their Governments to account on spending. Such systems ensure the optimal use of resources gained from tax, aid and investment, which is even more vital now in times of austerity. For example, Mexico made details of agricultural subsidies to small farmers publicly available, showing a high concentration of recipients among the wealthiest 10% of farmers, who received nearly 20 times what the bottom 80% received. In 2007, under public pressure from the International Budget Partnership, the local non-governmental organisation Fundar, and Congress, maximum and minimum limits for farm subsidies were introduced and the recipient list was then cleaned up. In Uganda, public expenditure tracking surveys led to a reduction in leaked funds from 80% to 20% in five years, from 1995 to 2000, which was connected to Government grants for school fees. Many Governments, however, do not have transparent budgets, and nor do they allow citizen participation in the process. According to the 2010 open budget index, 74 out of the 94 countries surveyed failed to meet even the most basic standards of transparency and accountability. Only seven provided extensive information, of which the UK was one.

Clearly, much more needs to be done at an international level. The UK has an opportunity to make sure that that happens through its role as chair of the G8 and co-chair of the Open Government Partnership. The partnership, with 58 member countries, had its first steering group meeting under the UK chairmanship on 3 and 4 December, led by the Minister for the Cabinet Office. Countries have committed to publish data on Government spending in a way that the public can use, but the commitment is still limited and only includes the Executive’s budget proposal and audit report, while missing other key documents. Most importantly, the commitment does not require member Governments to develop practical ways of engaging their citizens and Parliaments in the process. As a result, the Open Government Partnership eligibility criteria need to be strengthened, so that countries show year-on-year progress and reach the highest standards of budget transparency, and to state clearly how citizens and parliamentarians can be involved in the budget process. For that to work, other key G8 and G20 countries need to commit to joining—fewer than half are currently members. Greater support is also needed to support civil society groups in using the information produced to hold their Governments to account. That could also be done, for example, through DFID programmes.

The process is comprehensive but crucial, and I will welcome further information regarding the Government’s plans to support its development in the years ahead as part of their wider anti-corruption strategy. A cross-governmental commitment to fighting corruption, throughout all Departments and across parties, is vital. I look forward to hearing the Minister’s response to the various questions and challenges that I have put to her today.

--- Later in debate ---

[Miss Smith]

The hon. Gentleman raises a wise point. If he will forgive me, I will allow a Minister from the Department for International Development to respond in more detail than I can today.

Let me turn to what we are doing on enforcement and what we are doing in the UK, because both are vital. We are playing a key role in the tracing, seizing, recovering and return of illicit assets. That is important, and in September the Prime Minister launched a taskforce to work with the Egyptian Government to gather evidence on stolen money, for example. That builds on the work of two police units that DFID has funded in that arena.

Effective enforcement is central and essential in the trustworthiness of the whole process. Laws mean very little if they are not enforced by every official who might come into contact with the process. The UK targets foreign and corrupt officials who launder the proceeds of corruption and bribery through our country, and I will give an example. James Ibori, the former Governor of Delta state in Nigeria, became one of its richest men by embezzlement. Following a British police investigation, he was sentenced to 13 years in jail, which sends a clear message to those who might seek to use the UK as a refuge for criminal acts.

In addition, the UK operates a comprehensive anti-money laundering framework which, in accordance with the revised international standards of the Financial Action Task Force, helps us to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.

[Catherine McKinnell]

Will the Minister clarify that the action that she is outlining and has given examples of is pursued under the Bribery Act 2010 and through the Serious Fraud Office? If so, will she clarify the SFO’s funding situation, and whether it has sufficient resources properly to tackle corruption on an international scale, an example of which she has given?

[Miss Smith]

I am conscious that the hon. Lady asked that question earlier, and perhaps I can return to it. I have just mentioned one case, and I can furnish plenty more than what I have been able to give on my feet this afternoon. She will appreciate from her role on the Front Bench that it will be hard for me to pre-empt future spending decisions, but we are putting a serious focus on the new UK National Crime Agency, which I am about to come on to. I hope that she will find reassurance in that.

As well as telling other countries to put their houses in order, the UK must put its house in order. We should not be complacent. According to Transparency International’s work, we are perceived to be less vulnerable to corruption than some of our friends, such as the US, France and Ireland, but we remain behind other counterparts with whom we might seek to compete. We have subjected and continue to subject our domestic systems to peer review by the OECD, the UN convention against corruption and the Council of Europe’s anti-corruption experts.

We are already working across Departments and law enforcement and prosecution agencies to see how we can make it easier for UK residents and businesses to identify, prevent and report bribery and corruption. We need to improve the intelligence picture through a more joined-up and co-ordinated approach that gives us a clearer picture of the true nature and scale of domestic bribery and corruption. We can then use that to support a stronger law enforcement response.

From next year, the new UK National Crime Agency will have a part to play, and while the details are being developed, it will seek to reduce the threat from corruption and bribery within the UK and internationally.

--- Later in debate ---

[Miss Smith]

I see the force of the hon. Gentleman’s argument. If he will allow me, I will ensure that in due course he receives a fuller answer than I can give him in the three minutes remaining.

I want to add to some points about what has just been announced in the autumn statement. The Government have reinvested more than £900 million in HMRC to tackle evasion, unpaid tax debts and avoidance. That allocation of extra resources to HMRC during this spending review period will add a real element to what we have discussed today. Our serious compliance activity shows that the Government are committed to clamping down on tax avoidance wherever it is identified, and that is an important plank in what we are talking about in the most general terms and in preventing corruption.

The autumn statement announced the closure with immediate effect of some newly identified loopholes that were being exploited, and that will protect hundreds of millions of pounds for the UK. It also announced the introduction of the UK’s first general anti-abuse rule, which provides a significant new deterrent to abusive avoidance schemes and strengthens HMRC’s means of tackling them wherever they persist. Finally, we are cracking down on the marketing of tax avoidance schemes through proposals to introduce new information disclosure measures.

[Catherine McKinnell]

The Minister is aware that very little time is left for this debate. Apart from the measures that she has just outlined on activities at HMRC, she has not told us whether there is a cross-departmental anti-corruption strategy, or whether one is likely to be published. That would be useful information to have before we run out of time in this debate.

[Miss Smith]

I endeavoured to address that in my opening words. As the hon. Lady and the hon. Gentleman know, my right hon. and learned Friend the Minister without Portfolio is delighted to continue to be the anti-corruption champion; there has been no change in that respect following the ministerial reshuffle in September. It is with his full support that I am here today answering the hon. Lady’s questions.

It has been difficult to give a full overview of everything the Government are doing, but that is what I have endeavoured to do in this debate. I will convey to my right hon. and learned Friend her desire for a fuller response. I am sure that the all-party group’s work, which is supported across parties, will be well recognised, and I am sure that its desire for that strategy can be discussed in greater detail at a later date.

Question put and agreed to.

European Council

Catherine McKinnell Excerpts

Monday 22nd October 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend asks an important question. We need to see how the banking union proposals develop. We do not yet know whether it will be a full-on banking union or a restricted banking union. We do not know for certain the treaty base that will be pursued. If it is pursued on a basis of unanimity, it is absolutely key to make sure we safeguard the single market. I am very conscious of the fact, sitting round that table, that I am responsible for 40% of the European Union’s financial services industry. That, I think, must be our focus during these negotiations.

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

Could the Prime Minister clarify whether he intends to opt in or out, or out and back into the European arrest warrant, bearing in mind that it was recently used to bring Jeremy Forrest, the maths teacher who disappeared with Megan Stammers, back to the UK?

[The Prime Minister]

This issue has been discussed at great length by the Home Secretary, who set out in great detail in the House of Commons recently that we are minded to exercise the opt-out that the previous Government put in place, but there are safeguards that we want to seek for the arrest warrant.

Public Disorder

Catherine McKinnell Excerpts

Thursday 11th August 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I certainly do. I support having local police forces; I was never in favour of large police mergers and the last 72 hours have demonstrated that we can have a system that gets the police officers we need in the places where we need them.

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

The police, courts and Crown Prosecution Service must be commended for their work around the clock to deliver swift arrests and charging decisions, but they have much more to do, not least to ensure that successful prosecutions are now delivered. Given the unprecedented nature of these events and the strain that the justice system is already under due to budget cuts, will the Prime Minister commit today to making additional resources available to ensure that justice can be delivered for victims?

[The Prime Minister]

At Cobra, there was not only a Justice Minister but also the Attorney-General, making sure that when a police force reported any problems with the local CPS we could work quickly to make sure that resources were put in place. We should continue that in the coming days, perhaps mostly at official level, to make sure that bottlenecks are dealt with.

Public Confidence in the Media and Police

Catherine McKinnell Excerpts

Wednesday 20th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think that it is a matter of regret. Frankly, both Front-Bench teams have to accept that warnings from the Information Commissioner and Select Committees were not heeded. We have to recognise that there were issues about relations with media groups that made that happen, and we have to get to the bottom of how we prevent it from happening again. I hope we can address that point in the debate.

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

Will the Prime Minister tell the House the details of any appropriate conversations he had about the BSkyB bid, specifically with Rebekah Brooks and James Murdoch on 23 December and with Rebekah Brooks on Boxing day 2010?

Oral Answers to Questions

Catherine McKinnell Excerpts

Tuesday 5th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Solicitor-General]

Yes they do, and I have done it myself when sitting as a judge. What one cannot guarantee, of course, is that members of juries will obey those instructions and directions when they get home—but we have to rely on the good sense and public duty of citizens whose public duty it is to serve on juries.

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

Public concern about the misuse of modern communication technology, including social media, is growing, particularly about its impact on the pursuit of justice. That was most recently highlighted by the truly sickening allegations of phone hacking in the Milly Dowler case. The CPS announced a review of hacking evidence almost six months ago. When will the public and victims receive an update? Will further criminal prosecutions be brought, and will the Solicitor-General confirm whether any criminal investigations may have been jeopardised by the behaviour of the press and the rest of the media?

[The Solicitor-General]

With the greatest respect, I think that if the hon. Lady had thought about it a little more, she would understand that I am not going to give a running commentary either on the police investigations or on the likely consequences of any police investigations. She may rest assured that investigations will continue, and they will continue to follow the evidence wherever it may be—and if the evidence warrants prosecutions, they will be brought. That is work that we need to do in future; it is not something that I need to make announcements about here in the absence of any direct or relevant information immediately to hand.

Oral Answers to Questions

Catherine McKinnell Excerpts

Tuesday 24th May 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Attorney-General]

The first point to make is that the Serious Fraud Office is getting on with the job very effectively indeed. During 2010-11, it took 17 complex cases to trial with at least one conviction in every case; 31 defendants, both corporate and individual, went to trial, of whom 26 were found guilty, giving a conviction rate of 84%. That is an extremely good rate, and I wish to see it continued and built on. I have every confidence in the professionalism of the Serious Fraud Office and in its dedicated staff in delivering its service. I have every confidence that they will be able to do so in the future as well.

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

As The Times reports today, the Government’s proposals on serious fraud and international corruption are in total disarray. First, there was dilly-dallying over the Bribery Act 2010 and now there are trailed press reports on dismantling the SFO. Are the Government following the trend and going soft on economic crime? When will a statement on the SFO’s future be made, and will the Attorney-General confirm that it will be made first on the Floor of the House?

[The Attorney-General]

I have no doubt at all that it will be made first on the Floor of the House, but I entirely disagree with the hon. Lady’s premises. The position is very straightforward. The SFO is doing a good job, but I think everybody agrees that we need to see ways of improving the fight against economic crime. To take the hon. Lady’s point to its logical conclusion, there should be no discussion in government or anywhere else about such structures because doing so might raise some uncertainty. I simply do not share that view. I am confident that we will come out with the correct outcomes and that they will enhance our capacity to deal with economic crime generally. [Interruption.]

Public Sector Funding

Catherine McKinnell Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd March 2011 Westminster Hall

[Mr David Amess (in the Chair)]

I call Catherine McKinnell.

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

I am here to listen to the debate and to contribute where necessary, Mr Amess, but I have not prepared a speech.

[Mr David Amess (in the Chair)]

I apologise. I am embarrassed, because we have six minutes left before the winding-up speeches. Does anyone else want to contribute?

[Catherine McKinnell]

I could certainly make a contribution, Mr Amess. You simply took me by surprise.

[Mr David Amess (in the Chair)]

In that case, I call Catherine McKinnell.

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Worsley and Eccles South (Barbara Keeley) on securing this important debate. It has been very instructive to listen to the contributions made from both sides of the Chamber.

People in Newcastle are concerned about the speed with which the local authority cuts have been imposed and about the impact that that has had on the voluntary sector and support for it. Newcastle is one of the cities that has a thriving citizens advice bureau service, and it served more than 26,000 people last year, but it has now received a 20% salami-sliced funding cut, which is one of the worst cuts to services in the country.

The issue remains very much the speed with which the cuts have been imposed on local authorities, as well as their impact on different regions, particularly urban areas, where cuts to funding to combat deprivation have had a disproportionate impact—for example, in cities such as Newcastle upon Tyne.

[Guto Bebb (Aberconwy) (Con)]

Clearly, all Members in the Chamber share the view that the volunteering sector is important, but while listening to Opposition Members’ contributions I had the strong feeling that we have created an over-dependence on the public sector for volunteering organisations’ funding in the past 10 years. That over-dependence is as much about creating a big state as it is about creating a big society.

Does the hon. Lady agree that many of the best organisations working with local communities—certainly in constituencies such as mine—are free from Government intervention and Government funding? The point has been strongly made that there are bureaucratic issues in volunteering when organisations depend on Government funding. We need to create a society in which people volunteer, but do not depend on Government funding to do so.

[Catherine McKinnell]

I do not agree with the hon. Gentleman’s assertion. I agree that there are some fantastic voluntary organisations that do not rely on any public funding. They are supported, and have to be supported, across the country, and they are warmly welcomed. However, one of the main issues is that the abilities of those organisations are not necessarily distributed in such as way as to target the most hard-to-reach areas, which require more structured funding to support and assist voluntary activities. That point has been made very clearly by my hon. Friends and, indeed, by Government Members.

[Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

There might be another interpretation of the points raised by the hon. Member for Aberconwy (Guto Bebb), which is that there is a fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship between the voluntary sector and the state, and of the importance of funding in ensuring that the voluntary sector has had the capacity to thrive over the past 13 years. One of the dangers now is that services will be affected when funding is taken away and that the capacity to thrive, as well as the voluntary sector’s ability to deliver activities and to be a voice for many people in our communities, will be damaged. Some of the comments that we have heard reflect a misunderstanding of why it is so important to support the voluntary sector if we want volunteering to thrive and if we want to tap into all the benefits it offers our society.

[Catherine McKinnell]

I thank my hon. Friend for her intervention. That is exactly the point that needs to be made. As my hon. Friend the Member for Worsley and Eccles South said at the beginning of the debate, there is genuine concern that we need to understand how the voluntary sector works, how it is funded and how it is supported. There is huge concern about the Government’s pursuit of an economic policy that is reducing the deficit at a rate that is too fast, that is reckless and that will cause long-term damage to our civil society.

I want to put those issues on the record. The voluntary sector in Newcastle continues to thrive, but it sits in sheer trepidation, because most organisations have no security of funding beyond the end of this month.

[Barbara Keeley]

Before my hon. Friend finishes, does she agree that we could characterise this debate as one in which Government Members have hectored and lectured local authorities about not cutting grants to voluntary organisations in their areas, even though Ministers are cutting the number of their strategic partners from 42 to 14, and cutting their funding, too? Is it not inappropriate for coalition Government Members to lecture local authorities about what they must and must not do, when they themselves are scything away the infrastructure of the voluntary sector?

--- Later in debate ---

[Catherine McKinnell]

Absolutely. The point could not have been put more clearly. I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention and for giving me the opportunity to contribute to this important debate.

Oral Answers to Questions

Catherine McKinnell Excerpts

Tuesday 1st March 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Solicitor-General]

Yes, I can. The hon. Lady is perfectly right to say that many victims of human trafficking come from countries and jurisdictions where the police are seen as oppressors, rather than as assistants to the criminal justice system and to victims. However, the CPS and this country’s police forces are acutely aware of that and are sensitive to the needs of those traumatised victims. I can assure her that everything will be done to assist the prosecution of traffickers, with or without the evidence of the victim.

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

The Solicitor-General will be aware of the recent legal challenge to the Government threatened by the POPPY project, the organisation that supports victims of trafficking. It is based on the Ministry of Justice’s failure to consult and to publish an equality impact assessment on the proposed funding cuts, which the POPPY project claims breaches the Council of Europe convention against human trafficking. Given the High Court’s recent damning verdict on the way in which the Department for Education cancelled the Building Schools for the Future programme and given the Fawcett Society’s challenge relating to the disproportionate impact on women of the emergency Budget, will the Solicitor-General assure the House that Departments are aware of their duties to consult properly and consider rigorously equality impacts before decisions are made? Will he place a guidance note on the matter in the Library so that Parliament can better understand the obligations, thereby avoiding such abuses of power?

[The Solicitor-General]

The hon. Lady’s first paragraph or so would be better directed at the relevant Departments—the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Education—but the points that she makes will doubtless have been noted. On the later points, I will certainly consider what she has to say and see whether it is appropriate to put such a note in the Library.

Legislation (Territorial Extent) Bill

Catherine McKinnell Excerpts

Friday 11th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his point of order. I have received no indication from any Minister at the Department for Education of an intention or desire to make a statement in the House today. It would, of course, be open to a Minister to do so however, and the hon. Gentleman has put his point on the record. It will have been heard by Members sitting on the Treasury Bench, including the Leader of the House, and I am sure there will be other opportunities fully to explore these matters in the days and weeks ahead.

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

Further to that point of order, Mr Speaker. Given the significant financial implications of this decision, have you had any indication from a member of the Treasury ministerial team that they will come to address the House today on the matter?

[Mr Speaker]

No.

Oral Answers to Questions

Catherine McKinnell Excerpts

Tuesday 18th January 2011 Commons Chamber

[The Attorney-General]

I am not going to be drawn into making criticisms of any individual in this matter. What is quite clear is that the hacking into telephones is indeed a serious criminal offence, that the Crown Prosecution Service will apply the code of Crown prosecutors in order to weigh up the information and evidence available, and that it is plainly in the public interest for proceedings to be brought against individuals where there is evidence that an offence has been committed.

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

As the Attorney-General is aware, serious concerns have been expressed about the handling of the News of the World phone hacking investigations to date. The announcement of a comprehensive assessment of all the material held by the Metropolitan Police Service is to be welcomed, but will the right hon. and learned Gentleman confirm whether he shares these concerns about the handling of the case to date? Will he clarify what prompted this change in direction only a matter of weeks after the CPS announced that there was no admissible evidence on which it could properly advise the police to bring criminal charges?

[The Attorney-General]

The hon. Lady must understand that any investigation in accordance with the code for Crown prosecutors must take account of the information and evidence available. If evidence and information become available that warrant looking further at a matter, that is exactly what happens. In this particular case, as I indicated in my first answer, information has emerged in the course of civil proceedings, which gives rise to a justification and reason for looking again at the material. That is exactly what the police and the CPS are going to do.