Where a pretext telephone conversation contains no clear admissions but the prosecution alleges consciousness of guilt from the accused's responses, the trial judge must give both a Barca direction (that the jury can only use statements as evidence of truth if satisfied the accused admitted their truth) and an Edwards direction (cautioning the jury to consider reasons other than consciousness of guilt for the responses). A trial judge's suggestion that the accused failed to deny allegations, when the conversation contained denials, constitutes a misdirection. Evidence of an accused's violence towards a complainant's siblings witnessed by the complainant may be admissible to explain the complainant's failure to report sexual offences, but requires a limiting direction.
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