Hayes v Willoughby [2013] UKSC 17 (20 March 2013)

Mr Willoughby conducted an obsessive campaign against Mr Hayes, repeatedly reporting unfounded allegations of fraud to public authorities. The Supreme Court held that the defence of 'preventing or detecting crime' under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 requires rationality, not merely subjective belief. The appeal was dismissed.

Facts

Mr Hayes was a businessman managing several software development companies. Mr Willoughby, a former employee of one of these companies, embarked on a prolonged campaign against Mr Hayes from late 2003, alleging fraud, embezzlement and tax evasion. This campaign involved hundreds of communications to the Official Receiver, police, Department of Trade and Industry, and other public bodies. All investigations concluded there was nothing in the allegations. Despite these conclusions, Mr Willoughby persisted obsessively. Additionally, Mr Willoughby intruded into Mr Hayes’s private affairs, including obtaining confidential information from Mr Hayes’s ex-wife, suggesting to his GP that Mr Hayes had forged signatures, and contacting his landlord about his impending bankruptcy.

Issues

The central issue was whether Mr Willoughby could rely on the defence under section 1(3)(a) of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, which provides that the prohibition on harassment does not apply to conduct pursued for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime. Specifically, the court considered whether this defence requires only a subjective belief in that purpose, or whether some objective standard must also be met.

Judgment

The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal by a majority (Lord Reed dissenting). Lord Sumption, delivering the leading judgment, held that while purpose under section 1(3)(a) is a subjective state of mind, it is subject to a requirement of rationality.

Rationality is not the same as reasonableness. Reasonableness is an external, objective standard applied to the outcome of a person’s thoughts or intentions… A test of rationality, by comparison, applies a minimum objective standard to the relevant person’s mental processes. It imports a requirement of good faith, a requirement that there should be some logical connection between the evidence and the ostensible reasons for the decision, and (which will usually amount to the same thing) an absence of arbitrariness, of capriciousness or of reasoning so outrageous in its defiance of logic as to be perverse.

Applying this test, the court found that after June 2007, Mr Willoughby’s conduct had become irrational. His persistence was obsessive and no longer guided by any objective assessment of evidence. His conviction of Mr Hayes’s guilt preceded rather than followed any objective assessment, meaning he could not be regarded as having the purpose required by section 1(3)(a).

Lord Sumption also clarified that the purpose need not be the sole purpose of the alleged harasser; the relevant purpose is the dominant one.

Dissenting Judgment

Lord Reed dissented, arguing that Parliament did not impose a rationality requirement and that such a distinction between unreasonableness and irrationality would be difficult to apply, particularly in criminal trials with juries.

Implications

This case establishes that the defence of preventing or detecting crime under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 is not purely subjective. While the alleged harasser’s purpose is assessed subjectively, there must be a rational basis for that purpose. This prevents obsessive individuals from relying on delusional beliefs to justify harassment. The decision provides an important control mechanism distinguishing between genuine crime prevention activities and irrational vendettas, whilst maintaining protection for legitimate investigative activities by public authorities and others such as investigative journalists.

Verdict: Appeal dismissed. The Court of Appeal's decision was upheld, granting an injunction against Mr Willoughby and remitting the matter to the county court to assess damages.

Source: Hayes v Willoughby [2013] UKSC 17 (20 March 2013)