Whittle and Others, Regina v: CACD 14 Nov 2008

The defendants appealed against sentences imposed for operating a criminal cartel. They said that the Court had used as a guideline minimum sentences which had been agreed in a plea bargain for a similar offence in the USA.
Held: The non-exhaustive list of relevant factors was ‘The gravity and nature of the offence, the duration of the offence, the degree of culpability of the defendant in implementing the cartel agreement, whether the defendant’s conduct was contrary to guidelines laid down in his company compliance manual; Mitigating factors included cooperation by the defendant in respect of the inquiry, whether the defendant was compelled to participate in the cartel under duress, whether the offence was a first offence and any personal circumstances which the courts might regard as a factor suggesting leniency.’ The Court of Appeal was not yet able to set guidelines because this was the first such prosecution. The US agreement was not a good basis.

Judges:

Lady Justice Hallett, Mr Justice Foskett and Judge Morris, QC

Citations:

[2008] EWCA Crim 2560, Times 27-Nov-2008, [2009] UKCLR 247, [2009] Lloyd’s Rep FC 77

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Enterprise Act 2002 188

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Criminal Sentencing

Updated: 30 July 2022; Ref: scu.277886