A Van Der Zyden direction warning the jury about the absence of a proven motive to lie is not required, and may be inapt and confusing, where the defence has identified a specific motive for the witness to lie. The question in assessing prosecutorial misconduct is not whether the prosecutor acted imperfectly but whether the accused received a fair trial, and trial judge directions can cure prejudice arising from a prosecutor's overstatements or immoderate language.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 2 later cases that cite this judgment.
1 of the 2 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.