Tory in crime blast

The criminal justice system issuffering from a 'glut' of legislation, much of which is unnecessary and time-wasting, home affairs spokes-man Humfrey Malins told the Conservative Party conference this week.Mr Malins, a solicitor, said at a Law Society fringe meeting that there was too much change in the criminal justice system.

'We seem to have almost one criminal justice bill a year, which means that the people working in the system simply don't have time to adjust,' he said.He rejected the Auld report's calls for a three-tier criminal court structure: 'The current system works perfectly well, and there is no need for reform in this area.' Mr Malins admitted it was clear in hindsight that the Crown Prosecution Service, which was introduced during the Conservative government, was 'underfunded from the beginning', and had been plagued from the start with 'too much bureaucracy'.Also at the meeting, Law Society Deputy Vice-President Peter Williamson warned against the danger of a gradual erosion of civil liberties.

He said: 'Although we recognise the need for stricter controls in the light of the recent terrorist attacks, we must ensure that the events of 11 September should not be used as an excuse for the government to whittle away civil liberties further.'Victoria MacCallum