Criminal law – Duress as a defence. The Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, gave guidance on the law relating to the defence of duress, noting, in particular, that the mere fact that a threat had been conveyed indirectly did not constitute a fatal bar to the defence. In all the circumstances, the third defendant's appeal against conviction would be dismissed as the judge had been entitled to withdraw her defence of duress from the jury because, on orthodox principles governing the carefully confined defence, the jury had been bound to find it disproved.