The test for dishonesty under the Theft Act 1968 was both subjective and objective. In determining whether a defendant had acted dishonestly, a jury had first of all to decide whether, according to the ordinary standards of reasonable and honest people, what was done was dishonest; if it was not dishonest by those standards, that would be the end of the matter and the prosecution would fail (the objective test). If it was dishonest by those standards, then the jury had to consider whether the defendant himself had to have realised that what he was doing was by those standards dishonest (the subjective test). This case is the basis for the "Ghosh test".

CA (Crim Div) (Lord Lane LCJ, Lloyd J, Eastham J)

05/04/1982