Asked by: Matt Western (Labour - Warwick and Leamington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the risks that private prosecutions in the United Kingdom may be used by well‑resourced organisations to (a) target and (b) intimidate individuals associated with pro‑Palestinian advocacy.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Any individual or organisation in England and Wales has the right to bring a private prosecution where a criminal offence has been committed.
The Government expects all organisations that bring private prosecutions to do so where there is sufficient evidence that the defendant has committed an offence, and where the prosecution is in the public interest.
The Ministry of Justice held a consultation on the regulation of private prosecutors – to ensure consistency, accountability, and transparency in private prosecutions – last year and the Government will set out its next steps shortly.