Regulation 21 Defences
United Kingdom
It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under these Regulations to prove that they took all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence.
A may not rely on a defence that involves an allegation that the commission of the offence was due to the act or default of B unless—
at least seven clear days before the hearing A has given to the prosecutor a notice in writing giving such information identifying or assisting in the identification of B as was then in their possession; or
the court grants them leave.
In proceedings for an offence under regulation 4(1) as read with the provisions of Regulation 110/2008 mentioned in Part 2 of Schedule 2 insofar as they apply to the advertisement of spirit drinks, or an offence under regulation 4(2) committed by the way in which a spirit drink is advertised, it is a defence for the person charged with the offence to prove that—
at the time of the alleged offence they were a person whose business it was to publish or arrange for the publication of advertisements;
they received the advertisement for publication in the ordinary course of business; and
they did not know, and had no reason to suspect, that publication of the advertisement would constitute an offence under these Regulations.
It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under regulation 9(4) to prove that they reasonably believed—
that it was lawful to disclose the information disclosed; or
that the information disclosed had already and lawfully been made available to the public.