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Witness payments face ban
The Gary Glitter case raised the issue once more |
Media payments to witnesses in criminal cases are to be outlawed, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, has promised.
The government will take the step as soon as it can find sufficient parliamentary time, he said.
Although a commitment had been made on such a move last year, Lord Irvine said he had been particularly concerned over the recent trial of Gary Glitter in which one of the witnesses stood to gain financially should the glam rock star be convicted.
In the trial the main witness for the prosecution, Allison Brown, would have been £25,000 richer if Gary Glitter had been convicted of sex offences.
Speaking at a Press Gallery lunch, Lord Irvine said there was a "real risk" that paying witnesses would encourage them to exaggerate their evidence.
Or alternatively he argued payments could force witnesses to keep evidence back for future exclusive stories.
The lord chancellor said: "Legislation will be brought forward when parliamentary time allows."
Fear over miscarriages of justice
Lord Irvine said if the jury was aware that a witness was contracted to a particular newspaper, they might wonder "if the witness's evidence has been affected by the contract".
He said: "This may not be the case but the suspicion that it could might be enough to cause a miscarriage of justice."
Lord Irvine also said he was waiting for the Press Complaints Commission report into the Glitter case "with very great interest".
"I have no reason to suppose that any newspaper will fail to abide by any decision that the PCC reached," he added.
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14 Nov 99 | UK |
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Paper defends Glitter witness payment |
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The Press Complaints Commission |
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The Lord Chancellor's Department |
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