Beyond. Reasonable. Doubt.

Shrieks from hopeful bench-seekers that Peter Hitchens has pointed out the departure from the principle of conviction beyond reasonable doubt.

Whenever that might have become the case, did you vote for this change? Not even your Member of Parliament voted for it. It has no statutory basis.

Primary legislation must reassert the existing law that conviction must be beyond reasonable doubt, and annul any conviction where the jury had explicitly been directed to disregard that concept, as is certainly happening.

Likewise, there is no conviction beyond reasonable doubt where there is conviction by majority verdict, just as there is no presumption of innocence where there is no protection against double jeopardy.

But in whom are we to place our hope? A former Director of Public Prosecutions?