The full four-ingredient Azzopardi direction is not required in every case where the accused does not give evidence; the third and fourth ingredients (gaps in evidence and make-weight) are directed to preventing impermissible reasoning from the accused's silence, not to bolstering the weight of hearsay exculpatory statements. R v Macris should not be followed. Where no objection was taken at trial, leave under Rule 4 requires demonstration that the omission led to a miscarriage of justice — that the accused lost a chance fairly open to him or her of acquittal. No recognised sentencing range exists for manslaughter of young children by parents or carers.
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