Rebecca Harris was instructed on behalf of the respondent in this case before the Court of Appeal in which it was held that a Judge is not always required to give a self-defence direction in full.
It is not the case that "all the elements were always relevant and must always be mechanically recited to the jury; the directions in law needed to do no more than guide the jury as to what the essential factual dispute was and the conclusions to be drawn from the different findings open to them on the evidence."