Professors John Spencer and Graham Virgo advise the Justice Committee

On 13th September 2013 the House of Commons Justice Committee published its Post-legislative scrutiny of Part 2 (encouraging or assisting crime) of the Serious Crime Act 2007. Professors Spencer and Virgo had both been consulted by the Justice Committee about the drafting and intelligibility of Part 2 of the Serious Crime Act which created new inchoate offences of assisting and encouraging crime. Their evidence was extensively cited by the Committee in its report, which concludes that the legislation is complex and tortuous and, if the number of appeals increase, recommends that the Ministry of Justice brings forward legislative proposals to reform or replace the offences.