HarassmentThe statutory tort of harassment as set out in the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 was considered by the Supreme Court in Hayes v Willoughby ([2013] UKSC 17). The issue before the Court concerned the scope of one of the defences to the tort (section 1(3)): that the conduct complained of was for the purpose of preventing or detecting crime. The Supreme Court held that this defence can succeed only if the defendant rationally believed that his or her activity was for this purpose. Continue reading