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U-Turn On ID Ban For Men Accused Of Rape
Last Updated 13:00 12/11/2010
Miranda Richardson, Sky News Online
Men charged with rape in England and Wales will not be able to hide their identity after the Government dropped a pledge to give them anonymity.
The decision to scrap the proposal, which was included in the coalition agreement, follows criticism from women's groups.
Justice Minister Crispin Blunt said there was insufficient evidence to justify it.
"The Coalition Government made it clear from the outset that it would proceed with defendant anonymity in rape cases only if the evidence justifying it was clear and sound.
"And in the absence of any such finding it has reached the conclusion that the proposal does not stand on its merits," he said.
"It will not, therefore, be proceeded with further."
Following the election, campaigners lashed out at the Government over the surprise pledge to ban the identification of men accused of rape.
The move would have turned the clock back to the 1970s when the Sexual Offences Act introduced anonymity for those accused of rape, something later repealed.
But it went against recommendations made by Lady Stern, who said independent research should first be done into the scale and nature of false rape allegations.
In her review of rape and the criminal justice system published in March, Lady Stern said there was little information about the number of false allegations.
She said some reports suggested as many as one in 10 reports of rape could be false, but police and solicitors said they encountered cases extremely rarely.
Lady Stern said: "We make no recommendation on anonymity for defendants but note that it is often raised and the concerns will undoubtedly continue.
"A full examination of the issues would be helpful to the debate."
The Government has already abandoned its pledge to grant pre-charge anonymity to people accused of rape.
Last Updated 13:00 12/11/2010
Miranda Richardson, Sky News Online
Men charged with rape in England and Wales will not be able to hide their identity after the Government dropped a pledge to give them anonymity.
The decision to scrap the proposal, which was included in the coalition agreement, follows criticism from women's groups.
Justice Minister Crispin Blunt said there was insufficient evidence to justify it.
"The Coalition Government made it clear from the outset that it would proceed with defendant anonymity in rape cases only if the evidence justifying it was clear and sound.
"And in the absence of any such finding it has reached the conclusion that the proposal does not stand on its merits," he said.
"It will not, therefore, be proceeded with further."
Following the election, campaigners lashed out at the Government over the surprise pledge to ban the identification of men accused of rape.
The move would have turned the clock back to the 1970s when the Sexual Offences Act introduced anonymity for those accused of rape, something later repealed.
But it went against recommendations made by Lady Stern, who said independent research should first be done into the scale and nature of false rape allegations.
In her review of rape and the criminal justice system published in March, Lady Stern said there was little information about the number of false allegations.
She said some reports suggested as many as one in 10 reports of rape could be false, but police and solicitors said they encountered cases extremely rarely.
Lady Stern said: "We make no recommendation on anonymity for defendants but note that it is often raised and the concerns will undoubtedly continue.
"A full examination of the issues would be helpful to the debate."
The Government has already abandoned its pledge to grant pre-charge anonymity to people accused of rape.
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