A former member of the security services, convicted for spying, had written a book. The AG appealed a refusal to prevent publication. The court upheld denied the appeal on the breach of fiduciary claim. The Attorney General amended his statement of claim and advanced a public law claim to asserted, not a private law right on behalf of the Crown, but a claim for relief in his capacity as guardian of the public interest.
Held: In this latter capacity the Attorney General may, exceptionally, invoke the assistance of the civil law in aid of the criminal law. The jurisdiction of the civil courts was not limited to an injunction restraining the commission or repeated commission of an offence. If a criminal offence has already been committed, the jurisdiction extends to enforcing public policy with respect to the consequences of the commission of that crime, e.g. restraining receipt by the criminal of a further benefit as a result of or in connection with that crime. This was an exceptional case in which the Attorney General could intervene by civil proceedings, in aid of the criminal law, to uphold the public policy of ensuring that a criminal does not retain profit directly derived from the commission of his crime. The court made an order that the defendant be restrained from receiving any payment resulting from the exploitation of the book in any form or any information therein relating to security and intelligence which is or has been in his possession by virtue of his position as a member of the Secret Intelligence Service.
Judges:
Lord Woolf M.R., Millett and Mummery L.JJ
Citations:
Times 22-Dec-1997, Gazette 28-Jan-1998, [1997] EWCA Civ 3008, [1998] Ch 439, [1998] EMLR 309, [1998] 1 All ER 833
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Appeal from – Attorney General v Blake ChD 23-Apr-1996
The Crown claimed that in writing a book and authorising its publication, Blake, a former security services employee, was in breach of fiduciary duties he owed to the Crown.
Held: Blake was not to be prevented from earning money from the . .
Cited by:
Cited – Arklow Investments Ltd and Another v Maclean and Others PC 1-Dec-1999
PC (New Zealand) Land was offered for sale. A potential buyer, the appellant was approached by a merchant bank with a proposal for finance. When he sought finance elsewhere, a company associated with the bank . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Administrative, Media, Employment
Updated: 13 November 2022; Ref: scu.180885
