to have rendered such a confession unreliable, whether or not it may be seen subsequently - with hindsight and in the light of all the material available at trial - that it did or did not actually do so". The question of whether some action has rendered a question unreliable centers on whether it is likely to have made an innocent person confess, or even (equivalently) to have made a guilty person confess to more than their actual crime. "Anything said or done" is not limited to the actions of the police, but does not include things said or done by the accused. However, the circumstances existing at the time do include the accused's own mental state and capacities. Evidence tendered by a co-defendant The court may exclude evidence under section 76A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. Following a representation by the defendant or upon the court's own motion, evidence tendered by a co-defendant of a defendant's confession must not be admitted unless the co-defendant proves on the balance of probabilities that it was not obtained: by oppression of the person who made it; or in consequence of anything said or done which was likely, in the circumstances existing at the time, to render unreliable any confession which might be made by the accused in consequence thereof. Statements made in the presence of the accused The common law rules on the admission of confessions are preserved, and apply so long as the statement was made voluntarily. Under the common law, where a statement is made in the presence of the accused, by a person with whom the accused is on even terms, upon an occasion which should be expected reasonably to call for some explanation or denial from him, the accused's acceptance of that statement, including by giving an insufficient explanation or by acquiescence. In deciding whether to put the matter to the jury, the judge should ask: (1) could a jury properly directed conclude that the defendant adopted the statement in question? If so, (2) is that matter of sufficient relevance to justify its introduction in evidence? If so, (3) would the admission of the evidence have such an adverse effect on the fairness of the proceedings that the judge ought not to admit it? Canada Canadian common law on confessions is derived directly from English decisions and legal principles. There are some differences including the