Sir Bob Neill, Chair of the Justice Committee, said: ‘Our inquiry found that the present arrangements for funding private prosecutions are unfair.
‘Currently, a private prosecutor can recover all their costs from public funds even if the defendant is acquitted. This gives an unfair incentive to the prosecution because, by contrast, an acquitted defendant can only recover costs capped at legal aid rates.
‘The government’s response commits to legislate to ensure that the legal aid cap also applies to private prosecutors. This is a welcome levelling of the playing field.’
The Committee mounted its inquiry after a request from the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which had been referred a record number of convictions of Post Office private prosecution cases by a group of more than 900 Post Office workers prosecuted by their employers. The cases have been referred to the Court of Appeal.
