Thread by @Barristerblog

Suella Baverman tells @CommonsJustice she supports "extending the court day."

"Speaking of my experience as a barrister ... I would have jumped at the chance of any work, especially in my early days, regardless of the time of day at which it was being held."

Does she support increased legal aid work?

"The legal aid agency has produced a range of measures and there are lots of options in the pipeline. ... I'm not able to comment [if there will be an increase in legal aid rates]."

Are there plans to uplift fees to prosecution counsel (asks @neill_bob)?

"The Bar Council would pay tribute to prosecution lawyers in terms of the funding that was given to them ... [blah blah. ... reading from her brief] are there plans for more? I can't answer that."

Asked about the drop in rape prosecutions. She disagrees with the Victims Commissioner that rape has been "decriminalised." More recent figures show there has been an "uptick" in rape prosecutions recently.

Paula Barker (?) asks about so called "digital strip searches."

It is essential that victims have the confidence to come forward. "Must be a balance between reasonable lines of inquiry and respecting a victim's privacy," A delicate balance to strike.

Paula Barker (?) asks about the government's "end to end review". When will this be completed?

Mustn't be rushed. We want to ensure we emerge with concrete conclusions and recommendations asap.

Can't give a firm date as to when it will be completed. COVID has slowed things down, but there should be recommendations later this year.

Richard Burgon now asking about Vera Baird's latest report suggesting no, of rape prosecutions halved between 2016 and today. Has austerity played a role in the decline in rape prosecutions?

SB: "CPS has received £`18M (?) from Govt, a real injection of resources -

It has made the CPS a "beacon."

Sorry, she said it was £85M injection, not £18M.

Burgon points out that CPS staff have been cut from 7700 to 5500 staff between 2011 and 2019. Has that led CPS to be less able to prosecute serious cases including rape?

SB: I don;t dispute there were cuts under the coalition, but we are beginning to reverse them. Conviction rates have remained the same or gone up. CPS Direct is an exceptional service of which we should be very proud.

Outcomes for victims overall mean that CPS has delivered a very effective service, says SB.

.@neill_bob comes on to disclosure now. How positive has the feedback been on changes to the guidelines inmeeting the balance between a fair trial and appropriate privacy to victims?

This is a priority of mine, says Suella Braverman. Refers to earlier reports by @CommonsJustice and CPS Inspectorate. Disclosure must be regarded as a core duty, better use of technology. She will be producing revised guidelines & has engaged with wide range of practitioners

Bob Neill asks about disconsinuance of digital data consent forms. What';s the position as far as that's concerned?

"I welcome the ICO report, and importance of protecting victims and complainants data. Guidelines will produce balnce.

Asked for a quick suimmary of scrutiny of SFO, Suella Braverman says there is a "refreshed framework agreement." Holding the director to account for running the organisation, and I chair a regular board where we challenge the director on performance and strategy.

Does she get a breeakdown of SFO's recovery of proceeds of crime. Yes. It cpontinues to perform well, says the Attorney General. Over £10.1M orders obtained in 2017 - in 2019 over £17M obtained. Gives amounts recovered, which are less, but still rising.

Bob Neill asks if the CPS ministerial board is continuing? Yes it is, says SB.

The way I see my role of superintendince and sponsorship is to ask the questions, fair questions and all questions. I think of myu role as asking what wd the average man in the pub think about things? We probe and challenge, and that produces a qualitative and robust response.

Maria Eagle asks about private prosecutions. Some anecdotal evidence pps are increasing. Is that right?

And is it right that serious cases should be prosecuted privately?

"I have some data that in 2019-20, manual reclrds indicate CPS received 51 PP referrals, and of the 51 referrals CPS took over 32, of which 30 wree discontinued.

Do you have any ways of konwing how many other PPs are actually going on that are not referred to you?

She doesn't have any more data, but promises to try to find it if it exists.

Is it right that serious cases should be prosecuted privately?

SB: I know Committee is looking into this. Esssentially there is clear and appropriate role for CPS. CPS only intervenes to stop case if their own tests are not met. She thinkas that's an appropriate balance.

Maria Eagle presses her -

SB: I don't have any role regarding private prosecutions. A variety of prosecutors, Parl has preserved individual rights to prosecute.

For many of these answers SB appears to be reading directly from her papers. No harm in that of course, but means she's going very fast and hard to summarise her answers.

Now Maria Eagle mentions post office prosecutions. Should AG's dept have a greater role over proseuytors prosecuting a large volume of prosecutions?

No she doesn't. The CPS has a supervisory role. There doesn't need to be a wider role for the AG in this.

Maria Eagle says "there's a lot going on that you don't konw about isn't there Minister?" (she keeps referring to the PO as a prosecutor.

"There are checks and balances in the system and I think that's probably sufficient for the present."

Maria Eagle says private prosecutors aren't required to "pursue all reasonable lines of inquiry" under CJPOA. Sould they be required to pursue the same lines of inquiry as the police?

That's an intersting question. I can see where you're coming from.

"I'm not sure if private prosecutors should be under the same duties as the police."

Bob Neill asks about unduly lenient sentence scheme.

In vast majority of cases judges get it right, but ULS allows people to seek a review of sentences in the most seirous cases. ULS stats came out last week, very reassuring, she says.

There are no immediate plans to review the ULS scheme, but the Sentencing White Paper due to be introduced later this year.

Bob Neill asks about the 28 day time limit for ULS.

The government has no plans to extend the 28 day time limit for a referral. It is under review.

She's asked about manifesto committment to Crim Justice commission. Will be independent of govt, my officials have been working to see what the scope and remit might be.

She hopes that the names of the members will be released soon, but the membership of the committee hasn't been finalised yet.

There is a lot we can learn from other jurisdictions, says SB, whether in Scotland or other jurisdictions.

Asked about whether there is a time frame for the Royal Commission - no there isn't. Royal Commmissions can take several years. But this govt is ambitious and keen to get on with delivering its manifesto commitments.

An MP with a Scottish accent asks about the Constitutional Rights Comission (?) and are there plans to update the HRA?

An announcement will be made by the Lord Chancellor in due course. We are committed to updating the HRA. We remain committed to the ECHR.

Needs to be a better balance between rights and responsibiliities in the HRA, says SB. Mr McCaskill (?), the MP with a Scottish accent, has no follow up questions to that.

And that's that. Probably lots of mistakes in those tweets so don't rely on them for too much. But the commitment to the ECHR seemed pretty unambiguous.

Overall, my impression is that that was quite an assured performance from Suella Braverman who seems to have mastered the knack of stonewalling where necessary, and she seems to have been well-briefed by her staff. I didn't catch the first 45 minutes of her appearance at all tho