A number of constituents have emailed me to demand the prosecution of Sports Direct for allegedly not paying the minimum wage. Of course, it is proper that the law is enforced, and if it is found to be inadequate, it must be strengthened. Politicians however, must have nothing whatsoever to do with individual decisions to prosecute. To allow them to have any such influence would be to breach the important constitutional principle of ‘the separation of powers’. We have witnessed the corrosive influence of political agitation recently when the Police responded to the demands of Tom Watson MP to pursue allegations against Leon Brittan, which they knew to be groundless. If politicians were to decide who is investigated, prosecuted, or imprisoned, then our Liberty would not long endure.
Sir Desmond Swayne TD
