In an appeal against conviction for an offence of being knowingly concerned in the fraudulent evasion of the prohibition on importation of goods, HM Customs and Excise was wrong to have withheld evidence from the case in relation to a potentially incriminating telephone call which it had received. Such evidence would have varied the way in which the defence case was presented and accordingly the conviction would be regarded unsafe.

CA (Crim Div) (Evans LJ, Alliott J, Ebsworth J)

23/11/1999