The court considered when a public authority may lose any statutory protection for its acts.
Scrutton LJ said: ‘if illegal acts are really done from some motive other than an honest desire to execute the statutory or other legal duty and an honest belief that they are justified by statutory or other legal authority; if they are done from a desire to injure a person or to assist some person or cause, without any honest belief that they are covered by statutory authority, or are necessary in the execution of statutory duty, the Public Authorities Protection Act is no defence, for the acts complained of are not done in intended exercise of a statute, but only in pretended execution thereof.’
Judges:
Scrutton LJ
Citations:
[1929] 1 KB 419
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Harracksingh v The Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago and PC Neville Adams PC 15-Jan-2004
(Trinidad and Tobago) The appellant had succeeded in a claim for damages against the police for false imprisonment and assault. He now appealed a reversal of that decision. The judge had been doubtful as to the value of the police evidence. The . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Torts – Other
Updated: 23 March 2022; Ref: scu.193793