A Longman direction must go beyond general warnings about the danger of delay and must specifically identify for the jury the particular features of the evidence that might impact the reliability of the complainant's testimony, including discrepancies between Crown and defence evidence that go beyond mere credibility to the factual foundation of the Crown case. Failure to do so may be fatal to a conviction. However, a reference to 'commonsense' in the context of a Longman direction, while undesirable, is not necessarily fatal if the overall warnings are comprehensive.
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