separate bank account. When asked by Yorkshire Television for the money he made a number of excuses. Eventually the company gave him permission to pay the money into his own bank account. The appellant then handed the company a cheque drawn on that account. The cheque was not met. Meanwhile, the appellant withdrew cash from that account. At trial, it was submitted on the appellant’s behalf that, under s5(3) of the Theft Act 1968, the debt owed to the charity could not be said to be the proceeds of the money which he had been paid, because the proceeds were the things purchased with the money. This submission was rejected by the trial judge and the appellant was convicted. His appeal to the Court of Appeal was dismissed.

ABSTRACT

McCowan LJ: ... [I]t seems to us that by virtue of s 5(3), the appellant was plainly under an obligation to retain, if not the actual notes and coins, at least their proceeds, that is to say the money credited in the bank account which he opened for the trust with the actual property. When he took the money credited to that account and moved it over to his own bank account, it was still the proceeds of the notes and coins donated which he proceeded to use for his own purposes, thereby appropriating them ...