Where a Crown Prosecutor impermissibly refers to evidence inadmissible against an accused in closing address, the appellate court must determine whether it is satisfied that guilt has been proved to the criminal standard on the admissible evidence, rather than asking whether the accused lost a chance of acquittal. A clear corrective direction by the trial judge, reinforced in the summing up, may be sufficient to prevent a substantial miscarriage of justice even where the Crown case depends heavily on the credibility of a single witness. On parity, a co-offender's significant cognitive disorder reducing moral culpability and eliminating general deterrence, when balanced against increased need for community protection, may not justify a disparity of 4 years in head sentence between co-offenders of otherwise similar culpability.
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