Use of the evidence given in the public inquiry

In criminal or civil proceedings

Evidence given at a public inquiry may suggest the commission of a criminal offence and witnesses therefore cannot be required to answer a question if the answer is likely to incriminate them as the privilege against self-incrimination is a common law rule, but it is expressly adopted in the Inquiries Act 2005. By section 22 a person may not be required to give evidence if he could not be required to do so if the proceedings of the public inquiry were civil proceedings in a court.

For those reasons it is common for a public inquiry to secure an undertaking from the Attorney General that no evidence given by a witness will be used against him in any subsequent criminal proceedings. It is also possible to secure undertakings from public employers that they will not use evidence given by a witness in any subsequent disciplinary proceedings against him. However, many public employers will wish to temper any such undertaking so that they are able to use the evidence if it suggests a serious disciplinary offence.