Defence of due diligence
44.—(1) In any proceedings for an offence under these Regulations, it shall, subject to paragraph (2), be a defence to prove that the accused took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the offence or to avoid the commission by a person under the accused’s control.
(2) If in any case the defence provided by paragraph (1) involves the allegation that the commission of the offence was due to an act or default of another person, or to reliance on information supplied by another person, the accused shall not, without leave of the court, be entitled to rely on that defence unless —
(a)at least seven clear days before the hearing; and
(b)where there has been a previous appearance by the accused before a court in connection with the alleged offence, before the expiration of one month from that first such appearance,
the accused has served on the prosecutor a notice in writing giving such information identifying or assisting in the identification of that other person as was then in the accused’s possession.