Clause 2
Fraud Bill [Lords]
10:45 am
Mike O'Brien (Solicitor General, Law Officers' Department; North Warwickshire, Labour)
The clause makes it an offence to commit fraud by false representation. The offence was recommended by the Law Commission and widely welcomed in responses to the Government’s consultation paper. A representation is defined as false if it is “untrue or misleading”, and if
“the person making it knows that it is, or might be, untrue or misleading.”
The types of representation covered by the clause may be of fact or law, including a representation as to a person’s state of mind. They can be stated in written or spoken words, or in non-verbal communication.
Clause 2 goes wider than the existing Theft Act 1968 offences, which rely on the deception of a victim. Under clause 2, it will be immaterial whether the person subject to the false representation believes it to be true. The fact that the representation was made will be sufficient evidence to prove the crime.