Ministers back down on scrapping corroboration

Ministers yesterday shelved controversial plans to scrap the centuries-old requirement of corroboration in criminal trials.
 
Cabinet Secretary for Justice Michael Matheson said it was “neither appropriate nor feasible” for the Scottish Government to keep the proposal in its Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill. 
 
However, he said the Scottish Government “still believes that there is a case to be made” for its abolition and would consider whether to return to it after Holyrood elections next year.  
 
The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill was put on hold by former Cabinet Secretary for Justice Kenny MacAskill last April to allow a review of potential safeguards in the event of corroboration being removed to report.
 
Yesterday’s decision came after that expert review group led by former High Court judge Lord Bonomy recommended the requirement be retained when it comes to hearsay as well as confession evidence.  
 
Matheson said: “The issues that Lord Bonomy has raised are of crucial importance, and I want to make sure we take the time to consider them fully. 
 
“The Scottish Government will look at Lord Bonomy’s detailed recommendations as a package, alongside consideration of measures to improve access to justice for victims including the corroboration requirement itself. 
 
“We all recognise the added difficulties of prosecuting crimes committed in private, and we all share the belief that victims of crime deserve access to justice. Despite this, it has not been possible to build a consensus around the corroboration rule at this time.
 
“On that basis, it is clear to me that proceeding with the removal of the corroboration requirement in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill would be neither appropriate nor feasible.”
 
The Cabinet Secretary stressed that ministers remain “committed absolutely and unequivocally” to improving protections for victims.
 
Alistair Morris, president for the Law Society of Scotland, said: “Deferring this until the next parliamentary session will allow for further consideration of this complex area of law and further scrutiny of necessary safeguards within criminal proceedings.
 
“The minister is to be commended for listening to our concerns and the issues raised by many others involved in the criminal justice system.”

Opposition parties yesterday welcomed the decision, which will see the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Bill go forward as soon as parliamentary timetables allow.  

Scottish Labour’s justice spokesperson Hugh Henry said: “Today’s U-turn is a humiliation for the former Cabinet Secretary, Kenny MacAskill, who just fourteen months ago shamefully attacked all those who raised concerns about the abolition of corroboration as ‘abandoning the victims of crime’.
 
“The Scottish Government has been forced to listen to the criticisms made by Scottish Labour and legal experts and I am glad to see that this juvenile approach to our criminal justice system has been abandoned."
 
Alison McInnes, Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson, said: “This fiasco shows the willingness of the SNP to risk the integrity of Scotland’s justice system on the basis of scant evidence. 
 
“The current Justice Secretary and First Minister must now surely regret the role they played in trying to bulldoze flawed legislation through Parliament.”
 
Scottish Conservative justice spokesperson Margaret Mitchell added: “We believe corroboration should be retained in Scots law, and if it does have to be reviewed, it should be done so as part of a wider study of criminal evidence to study that requirement.
 
“The criminal justice system has to be fair and balanced for those accused of crimes, and the victims of crime. The hasty and ill-thought out removal of corroboration would have jeopardised that."