Battery

• Common law offence - s39 Criminal Justice Act
• Maximum sentence is 6 months in prison/ £5000 fine
• Definition ' Application of unlawful personal force to another intending either to apply the personal force or being reckless as to whether personal force is applied'
• Does not need to be a serious attack ( Collins v wilcock )
• infliction of unlawful personal force ( Ireland )
• The least touching of another will suffice ( Cole v Turner )
• Can happen through a continuing act ( Fagan v MPC )
• can happen through and indirect act ( DPP v Smith )
• Touching someone's clothes is equivalent to touching the person ( Thomas )
• Intention ( Mohan ) or subjective recklessness ( Cunningham ) of unlawful personal force ( Parmenter )