‘National disclosure week’ suffered a bad few days as two trials collapsed in a long-running series of high-profile disclosure failures. The first trial to collapse was a £34 million money-laundering trial, which the judge called “systemic and catastrophic” failings by the Crown Prosecution Services (CPS). Following that, a £3 million diamond fraud trial also collapsed.

The current disclosure process was established 25 years ago by the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996. Neil Swift says, “the system was designed in a different world, before smartphones were widespread. Disclosure is onerous and expensive to do properly”. He adds that the system can be made to work if it is properly managed and resourced.

Read more.