Can a Valid Claim of Public Interest Immunity Be Abandoned?

This investigation examines one question about the English law of public interest immunity: must a claim of public interest immunity always be insisted upon by the prosecution, wheneversuch a claim is available within English law?This question has once been hotly debated vis-a-vis the trial of Matrix Churchill in 1992, but has since received relatively limited academic attention. It will be contended that whilst the existing legal position affirms a positive answer to this question, there are good reasons to cast doubt on the existing legal position; an alternative approach will then be canvassed, whereby the prosecution is generally entitled to refrain from insisting upon a valid claim of public interest immunity.