Crime appeal pay-outs cut by £5m

It seems to me that the Government is very well aware that the net effect of its various assaults on the justice system and civil rights will be an increase in the number of innocent people convicted. It has complained repeatedly about the need for higher conviction rates - and it knows what its target-oriented insanity has led to in other fields.

This story is a small admission of guilt. What NuLabour is saying is that it cannot afford to compensate the victims of the gulag it is building.

The comparison with the cap on compensation for victims is telling. There is of course no cap on claims for compensation in the civil courts by victims of crime. They can sue for their losses in full. It is only compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board which is capped.

It is very sinister that the Government is seeking to remove even the adverse financial consequences of injustice. How much injustice must it be planning for it to care? It does not normally give a toss about taxpayers' money running into billions!

BBC NEWS | UK | Crime appeal pay-outs cut by £5m