R (on the application of Alec Jarrett Limited and others) (Appellants) v Bristol Magistrates' Court (Respondent)

Case summary

Case ID

UKSC/2025/0182

Parties

Appellant(s)

Alec Jarrett Limited, Gareth Lloyd and Paul Beeton

Respondent(s)

Bristol Magistrates' Court

Issue

Does the Secretary of State have the power to prosecute persons alleged to have committed offences contrary to the Welfare at Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015? If the Secretary of State does have that power, could it assign that power to the Crown Prosecution Service under s3(2)(g) Prosecution of Offences Act 1985?

Facts

The first Appellant is Alec Jarrett Ltd, a slaughterhouse company. The second and third Appellants are two of its employees. On 19th October 2022, in the presence of a representative of the Food Standards Agency (“FSA”), the second and third Appellants were alleged to have committed breaches of the Welfare at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 (“WATOK”) which resulted in avoidable pain, distress or suffering to longhorn cattle at the slaughterhouse. The representative reported the matter to the FSA, who commenced a criminal investigation. The FSA then passed on the file to the Crown Prosecution Service (“CPS”), who commenced a criminal prosecution. The Appellants argued, as a preliminary objection, that the CPS did not have the power to prosecute them. They argued that this was because the competent authority under Regulation 4 of WATOK was the FSA. Bristol Magistrates’ Court rejected this argument, holding that Article 4(2) WATOK gave the Secretary of State the power to prosecute, which had been validly assigned to the CPS. The Appellants applied to the High Court for judicial review of that decision. The High Court upheld the result on the different ground that the Secretary of State has a common law power to prosecute as a corporation sole. The Appellants now appeal to the Supreme Court.

Date of issue

4 November 2025

Case origin

PTA

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