SAUNDERS v. UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT 9 34. On 22 August 1990 the applicant was convicted of twelve counts in respect of conspiracy, false accounting and theft. He received an overall prison sentence of five years. 2. Ruling on "abuse of process" claims 35. In the second set of proceedings concerning the other co-defendants, further challenge was made to the admissibility of the transcripts of the interviews on the ground, inter alia, that there was an abuse of process in that there was misconduct by the inspectors and/or the prosecuting authorities in the use of the inspectors’ statutory powers for the purpose of constructing a criminal case. In particular, it was alleged by one of the co-defendants, Mr Seelig, that there was a deliberate delay in charging the accused in order that the inspectors could use their powers to obtain confessions. 36. In a ruling given on 10 December 1990 Mr Justice Henry found that there was no prima facie case of abuse by either the inspectors or the prosecuting authorities. He had heard evidence from both the inspectors and the police officer in charge of the criminal investigation. In a ruling given on 14 December 1990 the judge rejected the application for a stay, finding that there had been no abuse of the criminal process in the questioning of the defendants or in the passing of Mr Seelig’s depositions to the inspectors to the prosecuting authorities or in their conduct of the prosecution. He saw nothing improper or sinister in the decision by Mr Wood not to involve the police until the beginning of May. He concluded rather that proper use had been made of the statutory powers. The judge also refused an application to exclude the evidence of the interviews under section 78 of PACE as constituting evidence which had such an adverse effect on the fairness of the proceedings that the court ought not to admit it. 37. On appeal the Court of Appeal in a judgment dated 2 May 1991 (R. v. Seelig) upheld the trial judge’s ruling as to the admissibility of the interviews before the inspectors. On 24 July 1991 leave to appeal was refused by the House of Lords. 3. The applicant’s appeal 38. The applicant applied for leave to appeal against conviction and sentence. He argued, inter alia, that the trial judge had misdirected the jury as to the weight to be allowed to the evidence given by Mr Roux, the finance director of Guinness who had been afforded immunity from prosecution. The applicant was granted leave to appeal against conviction. Following a hearing at which the applicant was represented, the Court of Appeal gave its judgment on 16 May 1991. It held that while there were some blemishes and infelicities in the judge’s summing-up, it was in the main a masterly