Coroners and Justice Bill

My Lords, Amendments 76P and 76Q pick up an issue previously discussed in Committee. I have to tell the noble Lord, Lord Thomas, that the amendments would have no material effect when compared with the current drafting. Under Clause 78(6), the court will necessarily have to consider any fear of the witness, taking into account the witness’s circumstances, in order to judge whether that fear is reasonable. If it is a reasonable fear, the court must have regard to it. Thus, the test already has an objective element. Where the court inquires into the fear of a witness under this provision, it is obliged to have regard to the fear only where it is reasonable. I trust this further explanation will reassure the noble Lord. I can deal briefly with government Amendments 77 and 124 as they are essentially technical. Clauses 81 and 82 make provision for witness anonymity orders to be varied or discharged by the court that made the order. There is an issue with the current drafting in that we could expect the courts to construe it as requiring exactly the same magistrates’ court to discharge or vary the order as made it. Clearly, this could cause problems if a member of that court became unavailable for any reason in the period between the original making of the order and its proposed discharge or variation. Amendment 77 will ensure that where the court that made the order was a magistrates’ court, it will be open to any magistrates’ court in the same local justice area to discharge or vary the order. Amendment 124 ensures that, where a witness anonymity order is made by an old-style service court under the Criminal Evidence (Witness Anonymity) Act 2008, the new service courts provided for by the Armed Forces Act 2006 will be able to discharge or vary it under the provisions of this Bill when they are in force. I hope that the noble Lord, Lord Thomas, will agree to withdraw his amendment.