Cases in jeopardy because of anonymous witness rule

[25 June 2008]

40 to 50 cases that are going through courts or about to start could be affected by last week's Law Lords ruling.

They ruled that defendants have the right to know the identity of the witness giving evidence against them if the testimony is decisive. Last night the government and opposition parties talked about enacting an emergency legislation plan to permit the use of the anonymous witnesses. An Old Bailey murder trial of two men for the murder of Charles Butler has already collapsed because of the new rule and police have warned that dozens of other prosecutions could be in jeopardy. The ruling was made last Wednesday in the case of Iain Davis, convicted of a double murder in 2004. The five law lords said he was denied a fair trial because the three witnesses who confirmed he was the gunman were hidden behind a screen, their voices were distorted and they could not be cross-examined.

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