A Longman direction must be framed as a warning (not a comment or summary of counsel's submissions) and must cover six specific matters: (1) that the complainant's evidence cannot be adequately tested after the passage of time; (2) that it would be dangerous to convict on that evidence alone; (3) that the jury may nevertheless act on it if satisfied of its truth and accuracy; (4) that the jury must first scrutinise the evidence with great care; (5) that the scrutiny must account for circumstances peculiar to the case bearing on truth and accuracy; and (6) that every stage of scrutiny must take serious account of the warning. The direction should also address the fragility of childhood recollection where the complainant was a child at the relevant time. An inadequate Longman direction renders the trial unfair according to law, and the proviso cannot be applied unless conviction was inevitable.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 36 later cases that cite this judgment.
11 of the 36 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.