Asked by: Danny Kinahan (Ulster Unionist Party - South Antrim)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what factors the Crown Prosecution Service takes into account when assessing the reliability of evidence which is more than 30 years old.
Answered by Robert Buckland
Evidence is assessed in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors in arriving at a decision whether to prosecute a case. A prosecutor will look at whether the evidence is admissible in court, its importance in relation to the evidence as a whole, its reliability, accuracy, integrity and credibility. It is the duty of prosecutors to make sure that the right person is prosecuted for the right offence and to bring offenders to justice wherever possible. In doing so a prosecutor must be satisfied that there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction and that a prosecution is in the public interest.