Report blasts unfair secret justice plans

The controversial and wide-ranging proposals to extend the use of hearings behind closed doors are based on “vague predictions” and “spurious assertions” about catastrophic consequences, the Joint Committee on Human Rights said.

In reality, the plans are a “radical departure from long-standing traditions of open justice” which should only ever be used when publicly disclosing material would carry “a real risk of harm to national security”.

Dr Hywel Francis, the committee’s chairman, added: “Closed material procedures are inherently unfair and the Government has failed to show that extending their use might in some instances contribute to greater fairness.

The committee added that the Government’s “narrow concern” could be addressed by clarifying how public interest immunity, which enables sensitive material to be protected from disclosure, applies to national security.

The controversial reforms, which would give ministers sweeping powers to order closed hearings, are said to be aimed at improving the way information from the intelligence services is handled.

Instead, the report calls for the Government to clarify the legal framework, with “a detailed statutory definition of the test to be satisfied” for national security cases.