 The case is colloquially known as the Spanner case, named after Operation Spanner, the investigation which led to it.The five appellants engaged in sadomasochistic sexual acts, consenting to the harm which they received; whilst their conviction also covered alike harm against others, they sought as a minimum to have their mutually consented acts to be viewed as lawful.None of the five men complained of any of the acts in which they were involved, which were uncovered by an unrelated police investigation.