asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what lessons he has learnt from the Scottish experiment on tape recording police interviews with suspected criminals; and whether he proposes to take any action for England and Wales in the matter.

I am writing to my hon. and learned Friend about the Scottish experiment. My right hon. Friend indicated in the debate on 20 November on the report of the Royal Commission on criminal procedure that the Government accepted the principle of the tape recording of interviews with suspects in police custody, and he will explain how we propose to carry this matter forward when he announces the Government's conclusions on the report as a whole.