Bail restrictions may breach rights

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A long-awaited consultation paper from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said that a move to restrict bail in murder cases to "exceptional circumstances" would probably be knocked down by Strasbourg or the House of Lords.

The paper - launched five months after the high-profile case of killer Garry Weddell - noted that an attempt in 1994 to prevent bail in grave offences was found to breach the European Convention on Human Rights.

It said a blanket ban on bail would be "unjust" and would present "legal problems".

Instead, it proposed a "more modest alternative" to require the courts to take full account of the risks involved in granting bail to alleged murderers, including the likelihood of them inflicting physical or mental harm.

The review was prompted by a public outcry after Weddell shot dead his mother-in-law while on bail for the murder of his wife. Weddell, who worked as an inspector at Scotland Yard, then killed himself.

Present bail laws enshrine a general right to bail and Weddell was released because the judge felt he did not pose a risk to the public.

His brother-in-law has claimed Weddell had been freed to kill because of his "influence" as a senior policeman with access to a £200,000 bail surety from his wealthy barrister brother.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw stopped short of pledging any change in the law.

"The Government does not take it for granted that it will be necessary to amend legislation, but we shall not hesitate to bring forward whatever changes in guidance, rules or the law may be needed," he told MPs.