“The case involved a gang rape committed on a 16-year old girl by a group of men from whom she asked directions when she was on the way home by herself in the early hours from a night out. The appellant, who had come to the United Kingdom from Afghanistan only the year before, claimed to have played no part in or to have been present at or even known about the rape. He did, however, say that he had been very drunk on the night in question. The issue on the appeal was whether the trial judge should have directed the jury specifically to consider the possible effect of alcohol on the appellant's state of mind if they concluded, contrary to his evidence, that he had been present as a bystander in the room where the rapes took place. And whether the judge’s failure to give the so-called intoxication direction in those circumstances affected the safety of the conviction ...”
ADDED Thursday 5th November 2020