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Article: Legal chaos may help free killers ; Desperate legal moves were taking place behind the scenes last night as Ministers worked to secure the use of anonymous witnesses and avoid plunging the entire judicial system into chaos.

Article from:
Western Daily Press (Bristol UK)
Article date:
June 25, 2008
Author:
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Desperate legal moves were taking place behind the scenes last night as Ministers worked to secure the use of anonymous witnesses and avoid plunging the entire judicial system into chaos.

Officials were in a race against time to plug a gap in legislation ripped wide open by a controversial House of Lords ruling last week.

Police believe up to 40 people convicted of serious crimes in the capital alone could walk free if witnesses refuse to reveal their names in a retrial.

Top police officers and prosecutors want the use of anonymous witnesses to be enshrined in law before Parliament rises for the summer recess.

If a solution cannot be found in the next 28 days, courts could face a deluge of ...

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