Background
19.This Act follows the House of Lords judgment in R v Davis [2008] UKHL 36 handed down on 18 June 2008. That appeal concerned the use of anonymous witness evidence at trial, which had been governed by the common law. The judgment restricts the courts’ ability at common law to allow evidence to be given anonymously during criminal trials.
20.The Justice Secretary set out the Government’s plans for legislation in an oral statement in the House of Commons on 26 June 2008 (Hansard: Columns 514 to 524).