Attorney general job 'must split'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/7470414.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Proposed changes to the role of the attorney general do not go far enough, a committee of MPs has said.

The role of government's chief legal adviser should not be held by a politician, says the justice committee.

It says plans do not provide for a "clear split in the role" - between legal adviser and minister.

The dual role was criticised following controversial decisions such as the ending of the BAE-Saudi fraud probe and the legality of the Iraq war.

Shortly after he became prime minister last June, Mr Brown gave a speech on constitutional changes in which he said the role "which combines legal and ministerial functions needs to change".

Arms deal probe

But the justice committee said changes outlined in the Draft Constitutional Renewal Bill "do not answer the fundamental problem of maintaining public confidence in the role".

It said legal and political functions should be split and the attorney general should not have the power to halt investigations by the Serious Fraud Office.

The legal powers of the role ... could surely all be better performed by a non-political office holder Alan Beith

It follows the halting of the SFO probe into the Al Yamamah arms deal with Saudi Arabia - which then attorney general Lord Goldsmith announced was threatening national security.

The committee said the prime minister should make a judgement if there are "genuine national security grounds" and be held accountable for it.

Lord Goldsmith's role also came under the spotlight during the cash-for-honours inquiry.

'Significant changes'

He attended Cabinet - some of whose ministers were questioned as witnesses during the police investigation into whether money was donated to political parties in exchange for peerages - and came under pressure to remove himself from a decision on whether to bring charges.

The committee's report said the draft Bill "fails to achieve the purpose given to constitutional reform by the prime minister".

It said it gave "greater powers to the executive" and "does not sufficiently increase transparency".

Committee chairman, the Lib Dem MP Alan Beith, said: "The legal powers of the role, the powers to bring or intervene in legal proceedings and of being chief legal adviser to the government, could surely all be better performed by a non-political office holder."

He added: "The attorney general's ministerial role, involving political responsibility for prosecution policy, should remain with a political office holder."

A final version of Bill is due to be published in the autumn. A Ministry of justice spokesman said it included proposals to give Parliament more power to hold the government to account.

He added: "Significant changes are proposed to the attorney's role in relation to individual prosecutions and the prosecuting authorities.

"The aim is to streamline, clarify and make more transparent the role of the attorney general, with a view to enhancing public confidence in the role and re-enforcing the independence of the prosecuting authorities."