Rights and Limits

Police interviews

• The caution, and what “no comment” really costsEngland & Wales

  Staying silent in a police interview in England and Wales is lawful but not consequence-free. What adverse inference means, and why a prepared statement exists.

• Asked to come in for a voluntary interviewEngland & Wales

  A voluntary interview under caution, without arrest, is legally different from being taken into custody. You can leave — but declining can lead to arrest, and free legal advice is available either way.

• Police questioning in Scotland — and why the English caution does not carry acrossScotland

  Scotland has no equivalent to the adverse-inference rule that applies in England and Wales. What that actually means for staying silent in a Scottish police interview, and what it does not mean.