“You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention
when questioned something which you may later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence”
You do not have to say anything
This is your fundamental right. You do not have to say anything. If you are arrested, make no reply to any caution
until it is in the interview room with a solicitor present. This would apply doubly is special warnings are used in interview.
People are very frightened to ask for the tape to be stopped before consulting the solicitor. At the end of the day,
he is your only friend in the station, so use him to the full, and tell him everything.
Remember, if you are arrested:
make "no comment" to all questions
don't write a statement
don't sign a statement written by the police
don't sign any police book
...until you have seen a solicitor
but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned
something which you may later rely on in court
Essentially, if you have an account which may
form a defence, or part of a defence, the crux of this section means that you should put it forward to
the police. However, if you are in a police station, do not say anything until you have spoken to your solicitor. This is
because you may well volunteer information to the police which they probably would not have had knowledge of. And in doing
so, you may well incriminate yourself unecessarily.
Remember , your solicitor will be the only person
who can and will give you qualified advice. A lot of detainees sometimes do not request a solicitor for one of a number
of reasons listed below:
1. They feel that if they ask for a solicitor
it implies that they have something to hide
2. That requesting a solicitor would only delay
the process. This is especially so when you have a police officer who delays their access to legal advice, then points the
finger at the solicitor for any delays in the process.
3. A great misconception is that some solicitor,
namely Duty Solicitors, are employed by the police. This is wholly incorrect. All solicitors are independent of the Police
and are not in any way influenced by the Police when advising a suspect.
Anything you do say may be given in evidence
This is partly true insofar as to say that
only comments you make which have been signed by you, or those made on tape recording may be used as evidence.
The Prosecution are loathed to pursue comments
which are made in any other circumstance than those mentioned above.
It is therefore in your interests not to say
anything at all until your solicitor has arrived at the station. If you are advised to make a comment, or no comment, you
should only do so following the advice of your solicitor.
