Profits from Wrongdoing: Private and Public Law Perspectives
In the Bell case, the Attorney-General, in his role as protector of the public interest, investigated whether payment to Ms Bell could be blocked under a recent Court of Appeal case, Attorney-General v Blake,' barring George Blake, the double agent, from receiving ?90,000 royalties from the sale of his memoirs. The Blake case, which is the focus of this comment, develops the law in two important respects. First, it extends the availability of injunctive relief for the protection of the public interest where a breach of contract involves the commission of a criminal offence. Secondly, it extends the availability of restitutionary awards for breach of contract, thereby qualifying the principle that the purpose of damages awarded for breach of contract is simply to cover the losses of the innocent party (rather than to nullify any profit or savings made by the contractbreaker). Although the Court's remarks on this latter (restitutionary) point are strictly obiter, they foreshadow a major revision to the law of contract and invite careful analysis. Before looking at the restitutionary aspect of Blake, however, the circumstances of the case must be explained.