On the facts of I Neale i , since the appellant was suspected of having breached the Coronavirus Regulations and was refusing to provide his name and address, his arrest was clearly lawful. The appellant was acquitted on a separate charge, that of being in a public place without a reasonable excuse contrary to regs 8(1) and 12(1)(b) and (4) of the Coronavirus Regulations, on the basis that since he was homeless he was entitled to rely on the exception provided for in reg 8(4). They did so on the basis that the police officer had been carrying out his duties during lockdown in enforcing the Coronavirus Regulations and that the appellant's behaviour had made it more difficult for the officer to engage with him regarding a potential breach of the Regulations. [Extracted from the article] Copyright of Journal of Criminal Law is the property of Sage Publications, Ltd. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Refusing to Provide a Name and Address and the Common Law Right to Remain Silent: Neale v Director of Public Prosecutions [2021] EWHC 658 (Admin)