R v Griffiths [1966] 2 QB 195

Court: Court of Appeal (Criminal Division)

Facts: D, a lime supplier, was accused of conspiring with various farmers to defraud the Ministry of Agriculture. However, the farmers were not linked to each other.

Issue : Whether there was a single conspiracy to commit fraud on the ministry between all of the defendants considering their lack of knowledge of the other conspirators

Held: Conviction quashed. The court found that a single conspiracy requires an overarching agreement among all parties involved.

Key Judicial Statement: Lord Justice Denning noted, "For a single conspiracy charge, all conspirators must be involved in a unified agreement, even if they do not know each other."