NEW rules meaning victims of some crimes - including rape - could be asked to hand their phones over to police could deter some from coming forward, a Gwent MP has warned.
Police in England and Wales have introduced new consent forms through which victims will be asked for permission to access their private information - or risk their alleged attacker not being prosecuted.
The new rules have been brought in after a number of rape and sexual assault trials collapsed after new evidence regarding phone calls, text messages, emails, photographs or other material which had not been disclosed emerged during the proceedings.
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But, speaking in Parliament this week, Torfaen MP Nick Thomas-Symonds said he was concerned the new rules would deter victims from coming forward.
The Labour MP, a former barrister, also said he was concerned Home Office figures showed the number of alleged rapes in which the alleged perpetrator was charged and prosecuted was at 1.7 per cent - down from 1.9 per cent in January - calling this "an appalling statistic".
"Of course we need relevant evidence to be disclosed in all cases, but there is a big difference between that and those who make a complaint of rape having to open up their entire digital life to be picked over," he said.
"We cannot have a situation in which complainants are asked to sign consent forms authorising the investigation of their data without limit, with the case not being taken forward if they refuse."
He added: "If, in practice, that means, 'Give us your mobile phone or the case will be dropped', that is no way to run any criminal investigation and it will deter victims even further from coming forward."
He asked Home Office minister Nick Hurd to ensure all alleged victims are offered free, independent legal advice before they sign the forms.
But the minister accused Mr Thomas-Symonds of "trying to make cheap political points on this issue" and said issues with disclosure of information had posed problems for criminal prosecutions for decades.
He added police had been requesting access to mobile phones for some time, and called the new rules "a well-intentioned attempt by the police to bring together best practice in a national form so that there is consistent practice across the country and so that consent is as well informed as possible".
The forms have not been introduced in Scotland and Northern Ireland, where policing is devolved.
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