A Crown Prosecutor must not invite the jury to draw inferences about the consistency of Crown witnesses' prior statements from the absence of cross-examination about those statements, particularly where the statements are not in evidence. A Crown Prosecutor must not criticise the manner in which defence counsel conducts cross-examination, characterise the defence as 'cynical', mock or ridicule the defence case, reverse the onus of proof by suggesting the accused must explain matters, or express personal opinions about the quality of the evidence. Where multiple such breaches occur in a single address, the possibility of miscarriage of justice may be impossible to cure by judicial direction.
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