 The courts have said that a defendant relying upon lawful excuse as a defence need not necessarily seek to put himself within section 5 . In R v. Denton ( 1981 ) , the defendant had been asked by his employer to set fire to the employer 's factory to facilitate an insurance claim . Despite this , it was held that the owner of the factory was entitled to have it burned down – as the Lord Chief Justice put it , " [ i ] t is not an offence for a man to set light to his own ... property " – and therefore Denton , knowing this , had a lawful excuse independent of section 5 . 
