Call to change 'conspiracy law'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/8404974.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Senior lawyers say the law in England and Wales should be changed to make it easier to prove criminal conspiracy.

The Law Commission says criminals can currently escape prosecution for conspiracy by claiming they did not know what they were doing was illegal.

Instead, it says criminals should be found guilty if they "believed" what they were doing was illegal.

It also wants to abolish the law which prevents spouses being found guilty of conspiring with each other.

The commission has also proposed adults who deliberately starve a child, who then recovers, should be charged with attempted murder.

The Ministry of Justice is considering the report and said it would respond fully "in due course".

Couple conspiracy

Under the current law on conspiracy the prosecution has to prove a person conspired with at least one other person to do something that they knew would result in an offence.

For example, if a defendant accused of handling stolen goods claimed he did not know the goods were stolen, the prosecution would have to prove he did indeed know this was the case.

Under the proposed change in the law, the prosecution would only have to prove the defendant "believed" the goods were stolen.

The Law Commission is the independent body which keeps the law in England and Wales under review and recommends reform.

It is also calling for the abolition of the law which currently says spouses or civil partners cannot be found guilty of conspiring with one another.

This law derives from the notion that a man and wife are one "legal" person.

It would currently protect a "Fred and Rose West couple" from being charged with conspiracy, if they embarked on a course of conduct which did not actually result in an offence being committed.

It would also apply to a couple who worked together and agreed to fiddle their expenses, but failed to carry their plans through to completion.

Feeding a child

The commission's report and draft bill also proposes the creation of a "reasonableness" defence to conspiracy.

This could be used when an undercover police officer engaged in acts which amounted to conspiracy in order to investigate a more serious crime. Currently the officer would technically be guilty of conspiracy.

In addition, the commission wants to amend the law governing attempts to commit crime.

The main proposal would enable prosecutions to be brought in cases where the defendant had failed to do something he or she was legally obliged to do in relation to the victim. An example would be failing to feed a child.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: "We welcome the publication of the Law Commission Report on Conspiracy and Attempts.

"This is a complex and important area of law and we are grateful to the Law Commission for all their work in bringing forward proposals to clarify and improve the law."