Conservative MP and Justice Committee chairman Sir Bob Neill (PA)
(Picture: PA Media)The government has come under fire from a senior backbencher for failing to respond to an investigation into the Covid laws while the Partygate scandal has raged in Westminster.
The Justice Select Committee concluded its “Covid-19 and the criminal law” inquiry more than eight months ago, urging the government to review how emergency pandemic powers were drawn-up and the way Fixed Penalty Notices were handed out to more than 100,000 people.
But the deadline for a response passed last November, just before the Partygate scandal consumed Downing Street and 126 fines for breaking lockdown laws.
Sir Bob Neill, chair of the select committee, has now written to Justice Secretary Dominic Raab to complain about the lack of response.
Our Chair has written to the Deputy PM and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab to ask the Govt to respond to our September 2021 report, ‘Covid-19 and the criminal law’.
— Justice Committee (@CommonsJustice) June 8, 2022
You can read the letter here: https://t.co/syIjSFCzgI
Read our report here: https://t.co/wu02fdhEvE pic.twitter.com/mMY6EQDPtj
Pointing out the committee took a “constructive approach” to try to help the government, Parliament, and justice agencies to “learn lessons”, he wrote: “By failing to produce a response in reasonable time, the Government is setting a concerning precedent, which risks undermining the role of select committees in scrutinising the Government.
“We accept that the role of the criminal law during the covid-19 pandemic is a sensitive subject; however, given the constructive approach of our report it is difficult to see that there could be any legitimate reason to delay the production of the Government’s response because of the ongoing controversy over activities in Downing Street during the pandemic.
“On the contrary, those controversies make it all the more important to show that the Government is willing to engage with select committees and learn the lessons from the response to the pandemic.”
Sir Bob, one of the Conservative MPs who publicly withdrew support for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, pointed out the committee had concluded the Government’s “use of criminal law during the pandemic made a major contribution to keeping the public safe”.
Covid offences have largely been prosecuted in behind-closed-doors court hearings, including last week’s prosecutions of four people who attended the vigil for murdered Sarah Everard. Concerns have been raised about the lack of transparency in the system and potential for miscarriages of justice.
The Ministry of Justice has now sent a response to Sir Bob’s letter, and has been contacted for further comment on the contents.
