Plan to record rape evidence affected by video gremlins

LIZ TRUSS’S plan to allow rape victims to record their evidence before a trial has been delayed because the technology does not work properly.

The Justice Secretary had planned to begin a pilot allowing victims to be cross-examined on tape ahead of a trial to save them the trauma of coming to court to be confronted by an attacker.

The pilot, part of a £1billion scheme to modernise the court system, was due to be introduced in three crown courts in September, but was held up by problems with the quality of video.

In a letter sent to Bob Neill MP, chair of the justice select committee, the justice minister, Dr Phillip Lee, said: “In the testing of the upgraded technology that will record and play back the cross examination, some quality issues have arisen. I want to ensure that all these are completely resolved before we go ahead.”

In March, the Justice Secretary was criticised by the then-lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, after she announced that the scheme would be rolled out nationally from September. He said this was a “serious misapprehension” because the scheme would only run on a pilot basis initially.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: “We have had seniorlevel discussions with the contractor to emphasise the importance of the work … the contractor will only receive full payment for the work when we are satisfied.”

The pilot, which was due to be implemented in Liverpool, Leeds and Kingston, south London, follows a successful scheme for other vulnerable witnesses, mainly children, which was due to be rolled out more widely this autumn. This has also been delayed.