What Is Really Wrong With The New Criminal Cartel Offence?

Over the summer, a jury took less than three hours to acquit two businessmen in the galvanised tank industry who had been charged with price fixing. One other member of 'ring' who had pleaded guilty is awaiting sentence and is doubtless regretting his plea (see footnote 1).

Prison is expensive for the taxpayer and its aims (usually deterrence) are frequently debated. So Parliament needs to show beyond reasonable doubt that a new criminal offence is really necessary before introducing a new one – and then only as a last resort.

The burden of proving a need for a criminal offence is probably discharged when it comes to financial market abuse: rigging benchmarks to favour a bank's own book should probably have been illegal from the start. But should small time metal bashers who try (and usually fail) to maintain or raise prices really be imprisoned? What would be the purpose of their imprisonment given that as