Customs and Excise: cases to answer

Gavin McFarlane • Dechert and London Guildhall University

New Home Office Compensation Payout

Two more defendants in cases arising from the Arms to Iraq scandal of the nineties have succeeded in their compensation claims against the authorities. Paul Henderson and Peter Allen have recently been told that they will receive ex gratia payments under the Home Office compensation scheme. This scheme has previously paid out seven figure sums to other defendants who were involved this series of failed prosecutions by Customs and Excise. All these cases, together with a long litany of other similar prosecutions, were the subject of an enquiry headed by Sir Richard Scott. As a result of his damning report, the convictions secured by Customs and Excise in a line of cases were rapidly overturned when they came before the Court of Appeal. However, this was not before public confidence in the judicial system had been shaken by the failure to root out the defects in the Customs investigations during the long series of crown court trials that led to the convictions. Since the misbehaviour by investigators came to light in such a dramatic manner, the judiciary has become very cautious indeed when considering evidence put forward in cases brought by Customs, especially those in which an individual’s liberty is at stake.