The test for reception of fresh evidence on sentence appeals requires demonstration that the absence of the evidence resulted in a miscarriage of justice, or that the material is of such significance that the sentencing judge may have regarded it as having a real bearing upon the decision. Evidence from prison informers about co-offenders' admissions, where the informer's account is based on interpretation of conversations rather than verbatim recollection, and where the applicant had every opportunity to place material before the court, will not meet this threshold. A belated plea of guilty has only limited utilitarian benefit where the Crown was required to call a considerable part of its case in any event.
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