Material irregularities and fairness of procedure: R v Davis; R v Rowe; R v Johnson (2000) The Times, 25 July

The appellants were convicted in 1990 at the Central Criminal Court of murder, several robberies and causing grievous bodily harm on 15-16December 1988 around the M25 area in Sussex, and were sentenced to life imprisonment and other sizeable concurrent sentences. It was accepted that the men were convicted mainly on the statements of one Norman Duncan. At some stage during the trial it became clear to prosecuting counsel that Duncan was a police informant whose statements had been instrumental in bringing about the arrests. It was later found that Duncan was also paid over £10,000 by the Daily Mail newspaper.