Member

This is a very well-recognised safeguard in UK law. Indeed, the noble Lord, Lord Cameron of Lochiel, raised from the Opposition Front Bench on the first day in Committee that there is comparable UK legislation whereby the burden of proof lies on the accused—for example the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, where there can be a burden on the accused to prove a reasonable excuse for why they had a controlled drug in their possession. This is also the case in the Offensive Weapons Act 2019, which I served on when in the House of Commons, and, similarly, the Companies Act 2006, which requires an accused director to prove that all reasonable steps have been taken to avoid committing an offence.