R v Saunders ; R v Parnes ; R v Ronson ; R v Lyons
| Jurisdiction | England & Wales |
| Judgment Date | 27 November 1995 |
| Date | 27 November 1995 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) |
Court of Appeal
Before Lord Taylor of Gosforth, Lord Chief Justice, Mr Justice Macpherson of Cluny and Mr Justice Potter
Criminal evidence - admissibility - no unfairness in Guinness trial
There was no unfairness in allowing the use in a criminal trial of evidence arising out of interviews conducted with the defendants by inspectors from the Department of Trade and Industry.
The contention that section 78 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 could be used in a judge's discretion to prevent use in a trial of self-incriminatory statements of a defendant made because of powers in section 434(5) in Part XIV of the Companies Act 1985 formed an unsuccessful ground of appeal against conviction in what had become known as "the Guinness trial" on a reference by the Home Secretary under section 17(1)(a) of the Criminal Appeal Act 1968.
The appellants, Ernest Walter Saunders, Anthony Keith Parnes, Gerald Maurice Ronson and Isadore Jack Lyons, had each been convicted on August 27, 1990 at the Central Criminal Court after a six-month trial (Mr Justice Henry and a jury) on an indictment containing counts of conspiracy to contravene sections of the Prevention of Fraud Investments Act 1958, false accounting contrary to the Theft Act 1968, theft, and conspiracy to contravene the 1985 Act.
Saunders was sentenced to five years imprisonment, reduced to 21/2 years on appeal; Parnes to 21/2 years, reduced to 21 months on appeal, and ordered to pay £440,000 costs, reduced to £300,000 on appeal; Ronson to 12 months imprisonment, fined £5,000,000 with four years consecutive in default and ordered to pay £440,000 costs, reduced to £300,000 on appeal; Lyons was fined £3,000,000 with five years imprisonment in default of payment and ordered to pay £440,000 prosecution costs, reduced to £300,000 on appeal.
Section 78 of the 1984 Act provides: "(1) In any proceedings the court may refuse to allow evidence on which the prosecution proposes to rely to be given if it appears to the court that, having regard to all the circumstances, including the circumstances in which the evidence was obtained, the admission of the evidence would have such an adverse effect on the fairness of the proceedings that the court ought not to admit it."
Section 434 of the 1985 Act provides: "(2) The secretary of state may appoint … inspectors to investigate the affairs of a company and report on them…
"(3) An inspector may examine on oath the officers … of the company … and may administer an oath…
"(5) An answer given by a person to a question put to him in exercise of powers conferred by this section … may be used in evidence against him…"
Section 437 of the 1985 Act provided for punishment of an offender refusing to answer questions as if he had been guilty of contempt of court and sections 449 and 451A...
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