PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament

1465 Oral Answers
26 MARCH 2013
Oral Answers
1466
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP): Northern Ireland
has had a number of convictions for human trafficking,
and there are cases pending. Legislation will soon be
introduced in the Northern Ireland Assembly by my
colleague, Lord Morrow. Will the Solicitor-General outline
the co-operation across all regions of the United Kingdom
to tackle human trafficking?
The Solicitor-General: As the hon. Gentleman will
know, there has been considerable co-operation and
co-ordination of effort, particularly over intelligence
and how those offences can be disrupted. Of course,
there is an issue about the new National Crime Agency
and exactly how it will operate—he will be aware of the
situation and the ongoing discussions. It is important
that there is that co-ordination of effort, which happens
across the United Kingdom and the wider world, in
trying to tackle the problem.
Serious Fraud Office
3. Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab): What recent
assessment he has made of the success rate, measured
by convictions, of investigations by the Serious Fraud
Office. [149747]
The Attorney-General (Mr Dominic Grieve): The SFO
has a 71% conviction rate by defendant for the current
financial year to date. It prosecutes highly specialised
cases, the number of which is small, so year-on-year
change in the rate is not a particularly good indicator of
trends. Although there is always room for improvement,
I am broadly pleased with the SFO’s conviction rate.
The report by Her Majesty’s Crown Prosecution Service
inspectorate in November last year found that the outcomes
in SFO cases demonstrate that it can deliver under
pressure. There will be a follow-up inspection within the
next year.
Kevin Brennan: SFO investigations have increased in
duration to 28.8 months on average, success rates are
down, as the Attorney-General has just told us, and its
previous director handed out £1 million to departing
staff without authorisation. Can the Attorney-General
tell us how much money will have to be set aside on his
watch for legal fees and damages as a result of botched
investigations by the SFO?
The Attorney-General: I take it that the final part of
that was the question and the rest was comment. The
position is that at the moment the SFO is handling
ongoing civil litigation within its budget. In so far as it
requires further resources, it will speak to the Treasury.
Miss Anne McIntosh (Thirsk and Malton) (Con): Will
my right hon. and learned Friend explain to the House
that the way those statistics are recorded changed three
or four years and outline the reason for that change?
The Attorney-General: My hon. Friend is right that
the statistics for SFO cases were previously based on the
number of defendants sentenced, rather than those
convicted. Consequently, because the number of cases
is very small, we can get huge statistical shifts simply by
looking at it in a different way. That is why, as I
explained earlier, I do not think that trends in the
statistics are a good indication of performance. Overall,
I prefer to rely on HMCPSI’s report.
Emily Thornberry (Islington South and Finsbury)
(Lab): As the Attorney-General knows, the offence of
misconduct in public office occurs when a public officer,
without reasonable excuse,
“wilfully neglects to perform his duty and/or wilfully misconducts
himself… to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the
public’s trust in the office holder.”
Is he aware of any reason why the former director of the
SFO, Richard Alderman, should not be investigated for
misconduct in public office over the circumstances of
his failure, as senior accounting officer, to obtain
authorisation for payments to senior staff members of
over £1 million?
The Attorney-General: As I am sure the hon. Lady is
aware, if it is thought that somebody has committed a
criminal offence and it will be subject to investigation,
that would not be a matter on which I could possibly
comment in the House.
Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con): The SFO
received 2,731 tip-offs from members of the public last
year but launched only three investigations into information
supplied by the public. If members of the public report
something to the SFO, can they have confidence that it
will be investigated?
The Attorney-General: Yes, they can be confident that
the reports will be looked at. Indeed, there are other
routes by which reports might come to the SFO, including
through the City police and Action Fraud. There is
clearly a requirement for prioritisation, but the SFO
will examine and consider any reports it receives.
Conviction Rates
4. Mr Dominic Raab (Esher and Walton) (Con):
What steps he is taking to strengthen conviction rates.
[149748]
The Attorney-General (Mr Dominic Grieve): The Crown
Prosecution Service secures convictions in over 17 out
of every 20 cases. The Director of Public Prosecutions
has concentrated particularly on improving rape and
domestic violence outcomes for victims, and conviction
rates for both have improved substantially over the past
two years. As for the statistical performance of the
Serious Fraud Office, my hon. Friend will have heard
the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Cardiff West
(Kevin Brennan).
Mr Raab: I thank the Attorney-General for that
answer. For all the controversy over terrorism legislation,
LIBOR rate rigging and tax-dodging, terrorism convictions
plummeted by 77% over the past five years, convictions
for false accounting fell by 73%, and convictions for tax
evasion slumped to 107 under Labour. What action is
he taking to plug the gaping prosecutorial deficit left by
the previous Government?