Progress on double jeopardy bill

LEGISLATION that would allow the retrial of suspects who may have escaped punishment in the past cleared its latest stage in Holyrood yesterday.

Members of the justice committee passed the Double Jeopardy Bill, which could allow exemptions to the centuries-old principle that no-one should be tried twice for the same crime, at stage two.

An amendment tabled by Liberal Democrat justice spokesman Robert Brown, which sought to remove provisions to allow the retrial of someone who admitted committing a crime after being acquitted, was defeated.

Mr Brown argued that a subsequent admission should simply be treated as "new evidence", as provided for elsewhere in the Bill, but justice secretary Kenny MacAskill said it was important to treat an admission as a distinct form of new evidence to "send a strong signal that bragging about one's guilt will not be tolerated in our society".

He said: "The Scottish Law Commissioners' report made a persuasive case that by taking the conscious decision to admit the crime, the acquitted person is effectively waiving their right not to be tried again.

"That argument simply does not arise with other forms of new evidence."

The Bill will now progress to stage three deliberations.