24 Defence of mistake, accident, etc.U.K.
(1)In any proceedings for an offence under this Act it shall, subject to subsection (2) of this section, be a defence for the person charged to prove—
(a)that the commission of the offence was due to a mistake or to reliance on information supplied to him or to the act or default of another person, an accident or some other cause beyond his control; and
(b)that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of such an offence by himself or any person under his control.
(2)If in any case the defence provided by the last foregoing subsection involves the allegation that the commission of the offence was due to the act or default of another person or to reliance on information supplied by another person, the person charged shall not, without leave of the court, be entitled to rely on that defence unless, within a period ending seven clear days before the hearing, he 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 his possession.
(3)In any proceedings for an offence under this Act of supplying or offering to supply goods to which a false trade description is applied it shall be a defence for the person charged to prove that he did not know, and could not with reasonable diligence have ascertained, that the goods did not conform to the description or that the description had been applied to the goods.
Modifications etc. (not altering text)
C1S. 24 extended with modifications by S.I. 1986/26, reg. 11(1) and by S.I. 1988/1586, reg. 4(1)
S. 24 applied (with modifications) (23.3.1996) by S.I. 1995/2489, reg. 10(1).
C2S. 24(1)(2) extended by Prices Act 1974 (c. 24, SIF 99:6), s. 7, Sch. para. 5(3)