Not unfair to admit statement whilst not a suspect
The defendant was in charge of a boat on the Thames. He was intoxicated as was his girlfriend. He was speeding, and allowed her to take the controls. She crashed the boat and died from her injuries. He absconded from bail, and was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter in his absence. On submitting to extradition, he now appealed saying that the court had been wrong to accept into evidence an interview he had given not under caution before he came to be suspected of an offence. The extradition warrant failed to mention the failure to surrender to bail, and he objected that he could not therefore be convicted for that offence.
Held: The appeal against the conviction for manslaughter failed. The purpose of sections 76 and 78 of the 1984 Act were clearly to be fair to those suspected of an offence. The court has clearly accepted that at the time of the interview he was not under suspicion. The defendant had charge of the boat, and was therefore responsible for the consequences of allowing a young inexperienced and drunken woman to take over.
As to the bail offence, in these particular circumstances, the proceedings against him were a nullity
Sir Brian Leveson P, Jeremy Baker, Thornton JJ
[2019] WLR(D) 344, [2019] EWCA Crim 1062
WLRD, Bailii
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 76 78, Extradition Act 2003, Bail Act 1976 6
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Ibrahim And Others v The United Kingdom ECHR 13-Sep-2016
(Grand Chamber) The claimant objected that the court had admitted in evidence a statement taken from him not under caution by police officers already knowing that he had made other self incriminating statements, and having deliberately chosen not to . .
Cited – Regina v Seddon CACD 10-Mar-2009
The court considered the concept of specialty with extradition proceedings. Hughes LJ VP said: ‘Extradition is a process involving agreement between Sovereign States. The requesting State has no power to send its policemen into the requested State . .
Cited – Hey v Regina CACD 2010
. .
Cited – Regina v Birch CACD 2015
. .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Crime
Updated: 01 November 2021; Ref: scu.639265
