Committee publication · Correspondence · 14 July 2026
Correspondence from Sarah Sackman KC MP, Minister for Courts and Legal Services, dated 13 July 2026: Government Response to Jonathan Fisher KC’s Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences, and Part II, Chapter Five of Sir Brian Leveson’s Independent Review of Criminal Courts
From: Justice Committee
Summary
This is the government's formal response to Jonathan Fisher KC's Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences (published March 2025) and Sir Brian Leveson's disclosure recommendations from the Criminal Courts Review (February 2026). The government commits to modernising the criminal disclosure regime through technology adoption, clearer guidance, improved training, and an Intensive Disclosure Regime for complex cases, while maintaining core legal frameworks and fair trial safeguards.
Key findings
- Government accepts 45 recommendations from Fisher KC's review and 10 from Leveson's disclosure chapter, proposing a coordinated reform package across policing, prosecution, and courts.
- Commits £115 million investment over three years for responsible AI adoption in policing, including a new National Centre for AI in Policing to identify, test and scale tools.
- Will establish a Criminal Justice Digital Disclosure Working Group with two membership tiers (strategic operational and cross-system engagement) to oversee technology deployment and build confidence in disclosure tools.
- Rejects consolidation of Attorney General's Guidelines and Judicial Protocols into a single statutory document, citing judicial independence concerns, but will create a central GOV.UK landing page linking current guidance.
- Plans to amend the CPIA Code of Practice to clarify that technology may assist identification and review of material without manual review of every item, subject to defence objection rights and safeguards.
Government position
The government accepts the strategic objective of both reviews and commits to implementing reforms across multiple fronts. It accepts most recommendations with stated implementation timelines, partially accepts some (e.g., consolidating guidance through a GOV.UK hub rather than a single statutory document), and rejects only the specific consolidation approach on independence grounds. Government emphasises cross-agency collaboration, technology adoption with human oversight, training standardisation, and transparency in performance monitoring.
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Jonathan Fisher KC, Sir Brian Leveson, Sarah Sackman KC MP (Minister for Courts and Legal Services), Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), Attorney General's Office, Home Office, Ministry of Justice
Notable line
“… financial investment and system efficiencies, whilst critical, are insufficient to bring down the delays – structural reform is also essential.”
Key Quotes
“… the Government can present a strategic and coherent package of disclosure reforms, drawing on findings from both reviews”
“We will harness technology, including responsible uses of Artificial Intelligence ‑ enabled tools and modern digital workflows, so that officers and prosecutors spend less time on avoidable administration and more time testing relevance and building robust …”
“… technology is an aid to compliant, "thinking" disclosure practice , not a substitute for legal duties or professional judgment.”
“The use of AI in this context must be lawful, fair and proportionate, and subject to robust governance, assurance and transparency”
“… disclosure is central to fairness and timeliness. The digital age has transformed both the volume and complexity of material relevant to investigations”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗