Sexual Offences (Protected Material) Act 1997

3 Regulation of disclosures by prosecutor

(1) Where, in connection with any proceedings for a sexual offence, any statement or other material falling within any of paragraphs (a) to (c) of section 1(1) would (apart from this section) fall to be disclosed by the prosecutor to the defendant—

(a) the prosecutor shall not disclose that material to the defendant; and

(b) it shall instead be disclosed under this Act in accordance with whichever of subsections (2) and (3) below is applicable.

(2) If—

(a) the defendant has a legal representative, and

(b) the defendant’s legal representative gives the prosecutor the undertaking required by section 4 (disclosure to defendant’s legal representative),

the prosecutor shall disclose the material in question by giving a copy of it to the defendant’s legal representative.

(3) If subsection (2) is not applicable, the prosecutor shall disclose the material in question by giving a copy of it to the appropriate person for the purposes of section 5 (disclosure to unrepresented defendant) in order for that person to show that copy to the defendant under that section.

(4) Where under this Act a copy of any material falls to be given to any person by the prosecutor, any such copy—

(a) may be in such form as the prosecutor thinks fit, and

(b) where the material consists of information which has been recorded in any form, need not be in the same form as that in which the information has already been recorded.

(5) Once a copy of any material is given to any person under this Act by the prosecutor, the copy shall (in accordance with section 1(1)) be protected material for the purposes of this Act.