Question to the Attorney General:

To ask the Attorney General, whether he plans to encourage the Crown Prosecution Service to introduce a regular review of evidence in homicide cases where (a) no person has been charged with an offence and (b) there has been an acquittal.

In murder cases involving an acquittal, the National Standards of Support, which were published in January 2017 between the voluntary organisation Justice After Acquittal, the CPS and the police, will be followed.

These require the CPS and police to each conduct a case review, considering the evidence in the case, how the evidence was presented during the trial and whether anything could have been done differently. Further, there will also be an on-going police review of acquittal cases, held every two years with any new evidence / developments being submitted to the CPS as appropriate.

Following a decision not to charge a suspect with murder or any other homicide offence, victims’ families can request a review of the CPS decision by an independent specialist lawyer in accordance with the CPS Victims’ Right to Review scheme.