United Kingdom

The person posts on a public social-media account, under their own name, that the Holocaust did not happen and the gas chambers are a fabrication. The post contains no threat, no call to violence, and names no living individual.

The UK has no Holocaust-denial offence, but Communications Act 2003 s127 (sending a 'grossly offensive' message, max 6 months) was used to convict Alison Chabloz in 2018 (20 weeks suspended) and again in 2021 (18 weeks' custody) over Holocaust-denying songs and podcast remarks. Malicious Communications Act 1988 s1 (max 2 years) and the Public Order Act 1986 Part III / Scotland's 2021 Act racial-hatred offences (max 7 years) could reach it if abusive and likely to stir up hatred, but have not been used for bare denial. Prosecutions for denial alone are rare; most such posts draw nothing or platform removal. Same position in E&W, Scotland and NI.

Sources: Communications Act 2003, s127 · Jewish Chronicle: Alison Chabloz jailed for 18 weeks · Malicious Communications Act 1988, s1

The person posts a public rant using slurs against an ethnic or religious group, saying the group is inferior and unwelcome in the country. No threat, no call to violence, no named individual.

Publishing 'threatening, abusive or insulting' material likely to stir up racial hatred is an offence under Public Order Act 1986 s19 (E&W, NI) with a 7-year maximum (s27); Scotland's Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 s4(1) is the same for race (7 years), while religion-only slurs need threatening conduct and intent. Slur-laden posts are also routinely charged under Communications Act s127 or Malicious Communications Act s1. Police made 12,183 arrests under s127/MCA s1 in 2023 (Times FOI) against 1,119 convictions, hence the process penalty. Typical outcome for a racial-slur rant is arrest and a fine or short or suspended sentence.

Sources: Public Order Act 1986, s19 · Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021, s4 · Are 30 people a day really being arrested for online speech? (arrest/conviction figures)

At a lawful, peaceful protest in a public square, the person burns a national flag they own and a copy of the dominant religion's scripture they own. No fire-safety rule is broken.

Flag burning is not an offence, and blasphemy was abolished in E&W in 2008 (CJIA 2008 s79) and in Scotland in 2021. Quran burning has been prosecuted as a religiously aggravated Public Order Act s5 offence (fine only): Hamit Coskun was fined £240 in June 2025, but Southwark Crown Court quashed the conviction in October 2025 and the High Court dismissed the CPS appeal in February 2026. Police still arrest and charge burners where crowds react, so arrest is a real risk even though conviction is now unlikely.

Sources: FIRE: Hamit Coskun wins Quran-burning case · Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, s79 (abolition of blasphemy)

The person posts that the head of state is a criminal and a pedophile. They have no evidence and present it as their opinion of the leader.

Seditious and defamatory libel were abolished in E&W and NI in 2010 (Coroners and Justice Act 2009 s73), and there is no lese-majeste offence in practice. Civil defamation remains: the Defamation Act 2013 has no public-figure rule, and the honest-opinion defence (s3) requires the post to indicate a factual basis, so a baseless 'paedophile' claim is likely to lose with large damages. In practice the monarch does not sue, and online insults of the King or PM are not prosecuted.

Sources: Coroners and Justice Act 2009, s73 · Defamation Act 2013, s3 (honest opinion)

The person prints and hands out a pamphlet praising an organisation the state has banned as terrorist or extremist, saying its cause is just. The pamphlet urges no specific act, and the person has no contact with the group.

Terrorism Act 2000 s12(1A) makes it an offence to express an opinion or belief supportive of a proscribed organisation, reckless as to whether others will be encouraged to support it, with a maximum of 14 years. After Palestine Action was proscribed in July 2025, police arrested at least 3,070 people by April 2026, mostly under s13 for holding 'I support Palestine Action' signs. The High Court found the ban disproportionate in February 2026, but the Court of Appeal upheld it on 15 June 2026. A pamphlet calling a banned group's cause just would lead to arrest and likely a charge.

Sources: Terrorism Act 2000, s12 · R (Ammori) v SSHD [2026] EWHC 292 (Admin) · Wikipedia: Palestine Action (arrest totals, Court of Appeal ruling)

The person repeatedly refers to a named transgender public figure by their former pronouns and name in public posts, with no threats and no contact with the figure.

Misgendering is not itself an offence, but Communications Act s127 and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (course of conduct, max 6 months for the basic offence, plus a civil claim) can be applied to repeated posts about a named person. In Scottow v CPS [2020] EWHC 3421 (Admin) the High Court quashed a s127 conviction for calling a trans activist a man online, calling the prosecution a 'grossly disproportionate' interference with free speech. Police still sometimes investigate or record non-crime hate incidents, but charges for misgendering alone are now rare. Scotland's 2021 Act requires threatening or abusive conduct plus intent.

Sources: Scottow v CPS judgment (16 Dec 2020) · Communications Act 2003, s127

A blogger writes that a named local businessman (a private figure) is a fraud. The claim is false, but the blogger honestly believed it after reading a news report.

Defamation is civil only (criminal libel abolished in E&W and NI by Coroners and Justice Act 2009 s73). Under the Defamation Act 2013 the claimant must show serious harm, but the defendant then bears the burden of proving truth. Honest belief is no defence; the s4 public-interest defence needs a reasonable belief that publication was in the public interest, which may or may not cover a blogger repeating a news report about a local fraud. Costs routinely run to six figures.

Sources: Defamation Act 2013, s4 · Coroners and Justice Act 2009, s73

A journalist accurately reports, with evidence, that a sitting politician is having an extramarital affair. The politician sues for defamation and invasion of privacy.

Truth defeats defamation (Defamation Act 2013 s2), but misuse of private information is a separate tort. In PJS v News Group [2016] UKSC 26 the Supreme Court held that there is no public interest 'in the legal sense' in disclosing private sexual encounters, even infidelity by famous people, and upheld an injunction. A sitting politician has a stronger public-interest argument than a celebrity (hypocrisy, fitness for office), so the journalist usually wins, but only after costly litigation and with real injunction risk.

Sources: UKSC press summary: PJS v News Group Newspapers [2016] UKSC 26 · Defamation Act 2013, s4

A foreign billionaire sues a local critic in local courts over a harsh but clearly opinion-based review of their business conduct.

Opinion is protected by the honest-opinion defence (Defamation Act 2013 s3), and meaning and fact-versus-opinion are often decided at an early preliminary trial. There is no general anti-SLAPP law: the early-dismissal and costs-protection rule in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 s194–195 (in force 18 June 2025) covers only speech about economic crime. General anti-SLAPP bills were introduced in June 2026 but are not law. London remains a favoured forum for wealthy claimants, and defendants face high costs before strike-out.

Sources: Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, s194 · Defamation Act 2013, s3

The person wants to buy a common centrefire semi-automatic rifle (e.g. an AR-15 pattern rifle with a 30-round magazine) and keep it at home.

Self-loading centrefire rifles have been prohibited since 1988 (Firearms Act 1968 s5(1)(ab)); only .22 rimfire semi-autos can be licensed. Possession is subject to a mandatory minimum of 5 years for adults (s51A; Sentencing Act 2020 s311) and a 10-year maximum. Northern Ireland's Firearms Order 2004 mirrors the ban. There is no route for a private citizen.

Sources: Firearms Act 1968, s5 · Firearms Act 1968, s51A (minimum sentence)

The person wants to buy a 9mm handgun and keep it loaded at home for self-defence.

Handguns (barrel under 30 cm or overall length under 60 cm) have been prohibited in Great Britain since 1997 (Firearms Act 1968 s5(1)(aba)), with a 5-year mandatory minimum for possession. In Northern Ireland (about 3% of the population) target-shooting handguns can be held on a firearm certificate, but self-defence is accepted only for a 'personal protection weapon' where PSNI finds a verifiable specific risk to life. Weighted, that rounds to 0.

Sources: Firearms Act 1968, s5 · PSNI: Guidance on Northern Ireland Firearms Controls

The person wants to carry a loaded handgun, concealed, in everyday public places.

No carry licence exists in Great Britain. Handguns are prohibited weapons, and carrying one means the 5-year minimum under Firearms Act s51A. Northern Ireland (about 3% of the population) issues personal-protection-weapon certificates only on a 'verifiable specific risk' to life (around 2,900 licences, mostly ex-police and prison officers). The population-weighted score rounds to 0.

Sources: Firearms Act 1968, s51A · PSNI: Guidance on Northern Ireland Firearms Controls

The person wants to carry pepper spray, or a folding knife with a 9 cm locking blade, in public for self-defence.

Pepper spray is a prohibited weapon (Firearms Act 1968 s5(1)(b); NI Art 45), with possession punishable by up to 10 years. A 9 cm locking folding knife is not a 'folding pocketknife' and is a bladed article under Criminal Justice Act 1988 s139, with a 4-year maximum; self-defence is not a 'good reason'. Scotland's 1995 Act s49 is equivalent. In 2025, 31% of knife and offensive-weapon disposals in E&W were immediate custody (average 8 months), and the rest were mostly community orders, suspended sentences or cautions. Stop-and-search adds process cost.

Sources: Criminal Justice Act 1988, s139 · MoJ: Knife and Offensive Weapon Sentencing Statistics 2025 · Firearms Act 1968, s5

The person wants to own a machine gun, or a destructive device such as an artillery piece or a grenade launcher with live rounds.

Automatic weapons are prohibited (Firearms Act 1968 s5(1)(a)) and possession carries a 5-year mandatory minimum and a 10-year maximum. Section 5 authority from the Secretary of State goes to dealers, museums and film suppliers, not private collectors, who may hold only deactivated items. Live grenades and shells fall under the same s5 rules and explosives law.

Sources: Firearms Act 1968, s5 · Firearms Act 1968, s51A

At night, a stranger armed with a knife breaks into the person's home. The person shoots and kills the intruder with a lawfully held gun.

In a householder case, force is unreasonable only if 'grossly disproportionate' (Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 s76(5A); upheld in R (Collins) v SSJ 2016), which is more protective than ordinary proportionality but with no presumption or immunity. In practice the householder is normally arrested on suspicion of murder and bailed while police and CPS investigate; e.g. Richard Osborn-Brooks (2018) was arrested and released, with no charge. Charges are rare where an armed intruder is shot inside the home at night. Scotland applies a similar common-law test.

Sources: Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, s76 · Fox News: UK retiree arrested over killing of burglar freed on bail

On the street, a stranger attacks the person with fists. The person could safely walk away but instead punches back once, breaking the attacker's nose.

There is no duty to retreat, but CJIA 2008 s76(6A) makes the possibility of retreat a factor in judging reasonable force. Outside the home, force must not be disproportionate (s76(6)). A single punch back against a fist attack is usually treated as reasonable; police often arrest or interview both parties, and most such cases end with no further action.

Sources: Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, s76

The person wants to buy a course of amoxicillin for a sinus infection without seeing a doctor.

Amoxicillin is prescription-only under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, and selling it without a prescription is an offence for the seller, not the buyer. Prescriptions are easy to get: NHS Pharmacy First (England, from 2024) lets pharmacists supply antibiotics for acute sinusitis under protocol, and online services offer free questionnaire consultations with private prescriptions delivered the next day. Antibiotics are issued only if clinical criteria are met.

Sources: Treated.com: sinusitis online consultation

The person wants to take a drug approved by the EMA or FDA but not approved in their own country, for a non-terminal condition.

Individuals may import an unlicensed medicine for personal use (typically up to 3 months' supply, not controlled drugs) without notifying the MHRA, but should hold a prescription. Border Force and the MHRA seize unlicensed products sent by post without one. A UK doctor can also prescribe an EMA- or FDA-approved drug as an unlicensed import ('special') from a licensed importer, at the doctor's discretion.

Sources: Community Pharmacy England: unlicensed specials and imports · Importing medications into UK: what's allowed and what gets seized

A terminally ill patient wants a drug that has passed Phase 1 trials but is not approved anywhere, and the manufacturer is willing to supply it.

There is no right-to-try law. A doctor can prescribe an unapproved drug on a named-patient basis under the 'specials' exemption (Human Medicines Regulations 2012 reg 167), on their own clinical responsibility, if the manufacturer will supply it. The MHRA's Early Access to Medicines Scheme gives cohort access only after a discretionary 'promising innovative medicine' designation and scientific opinion. NHS funding and the willingness of doctors and trusts are practical bottlenecks.

Sources: Teddz: named patient sales, compassionate use and EAMS · MHRA: EAMS operational guidance

The person wants to sell one of their kidneys to a willing recipient, with surgery by licensed surgeons.

Human Tissue Act 2004 s32 makes giving or receiving a reward for supplying an organ an offence, with a maximum of 3 years; only expenses and lost earnings may be reimbursed (s32(7)). Scotland's Human Tissue (Scotland) Act 2006 is equivalent. In practice the Human Tissue Authority's independent assessment of every living donation blocks any paid transplant, and prosecutions are essentially unknown.

Sources: Human Tissue Act 2004, s32

An adult declines a vaccine the state recommends or mandates for adults (score the strictest adult mandate in force in the last 5 years).

The strictest adult mandate in the last 5 years was COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of deployment for care-home workers in England (in force 11 November 2021 to 15 March 2022). Unvaccinated staff were dismissed, and tribunals held the dismissals fair. A wider NHS mandate was revoked before taking effect, venue COVID passes allowed a test instead, and there were no fines or forced vaccination. No adult mandate is in force today.

Sources: Blake Morgan: revoked vaccination legislation for care home workers

A competent adult with a terminal illness and under 6 months to live asks their doctor for lethal medication to take themselves.

Assisting suicide carries up to 14 years (Suicide Act 1961 s2, E&W and NI). The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill fell when the session was prorogued in April 2026, and its reintroduced version was defeated at Commons second reading on 11 September 2026. Scotland's bill was rejected at Stage 3 on 17 March 2026, and assistance there risks culpable homicide. Under DPP policy, a doctor acting in a care relationship is a factor in favour of prosecution, so doctors do not do this.

Sources: Suicide Act 1961, s2 · CPS: Suicide policy for prosecutors · Wikipedia: Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill

A competent adult with unbearable but non-terminal suffering (e.g. advanced multiple sclerosis) asks their doctor for the same.

Same law as R1: Suicide Act 1961 s2 (max 14 years). Both failed bills were limited to people with under 6 months to live, so there was never any route for non-terminal suffering. A doctor's care relationship counts in favour of prosecution under DPP policy, and GMC erasure would follow.

Sources: Suicide Act 1961, s2 · CPS: Suicide policy for prosecutors

A layperson gets lethal medication for a competent friend who has clearly asked to die, and is present when the friend takes it. No payment.

Assisting suicide is formally a crime with up to 14 years (Suicide Act 1961 s2), but DPP policy lists 'wholly motivated by compassion' and a 'voluntary, clear, settled and informed decision' as factors against prosecution. Of 209 cases referred to the CPS from April 2009 to March 2026, 131 were not proceeded with, 42 were withdrawn by police and 6 were successfully prosecuted. Helpers are still typically arrested or interviewed under caution and investigated for months, hence the process penalty.

Sources: CPS: Assisted suicide case outcomes · CPS: Suicide policy for prosecutors

The person is found with 5 grams of cannabis for personal use.

Cannabis is Class B; possession carries up to 5 years under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. In E&W in the year to March 2026, 53% of cannabis offences ended in a community resolution and 18% in charge or summons; Scotland uses Recorded Police Warnings. Drug-possession suspicion is the main driver of stop-and-search, accounting for 52% of s1 search arrests in the year to March 2025.

Sources: Home Office: Crime outcomes in England and Wales 2025 to 2026

The person is found with one personal dose of psilocybin mushrooms or MDMA.

MDMA and psilocybin mushrooms are both Class A; possession carries up to 7 years under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. In the year to March 2026, 33% of non-cannabis possession offences in E&W ended in charge or summons and 31% in community resolutions, with some forces running diversion schemes. A first-time Class A possessor typically gets a caution, a community resolution or a fine with a criminal record.

Sources: Home Office: Crime outcomes in England and Wales 2025 to 2026

The person sells 30 grams of cannabis to another adult.

Supplying a Class B drug carries up to 14 years. Under the Sentencing Council guideline, selling directly to users is Category 3 'street dealing' regardless of quantity: a significant (profit-motivated) role starts at 1 year's custody (range 26 weeks to 3 years), and a lesser role starts at a high-level community order. A sale of 30 g usually ends in a short custodial or suspended sentence. There is no licensed or tolerated retail anywhere in the UK.

Sources: Sentencing Council: supply of a controlled drug guideline

Two adults agree to have sex for money, in private, with no third party involved.

In England, Wales and Scotland (about 97% of the population), private paid sex between two adults with no third party is legal for both. Offences cover street soliciting, brothel-keeping and paying for sex with someone subjected to exploitation. Northern Ireland (about 3%) criminalises buying sex (Human Trafficking and Exploitation Act (NI) 2015 s15, max 1 year), with few prosecutions. Population-weighted: 0.97×10 + 0.03×2 ≈ 9.8, rounded to 9.5.

Sources: Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Criminal Justice and Support for Victims) Act (NI) 2015, s15

Three consenting adults want to live together as a family, share property, and make binding arrangements for inheritance, medical decisions and parenting.

Cohabitation by three adults is lawful (bigamy applies only to a second marriage). Property, wills (E&W has testamentary freedom) and lasting powers of attorney can cover most arrangements. Only two people can be a child's legal parents, though a third adult can get parental responsibility through a child arrangements order (Children Act 1989 s12), which excludes consenting to adoption or appointing guardians.

Sources: Children Act 1989, s12

Parents want to homeschool their 10-year-old using their own curriculum.

In England and Wales parents may home educate without registering or seeking permission (Education Act 1996 s7), except where a school attendance order or special-school placement applies. Councils can make informal enquiries and serve attendance orders if education seems unsuitable. The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 (Royal Assent 29 April 2026) creates compulsory 'children not in school' registers and consent requirements in safeguarding cases, but these are not yet in force (expected 2027). Scotland requires council consent only to withdraw a child already in a state school; NI requires nothing.

Sources: GOV.UK: Educating your child at home · Home Ed Daily: Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, what happens now

The state wants to read the person's end-to-end encrypted messages, although they are suspected of no serious crime.

Investigatory Powers Act 2016 s253 lets the Home Secretary serve secret technical capability notices requiring providers to keep the ability to remove encryption. Apple withdrew Advanced Data Protection for new UK users in February 2025 after one such notice, and challenges by Apple and Privacy International are still pending at the IPT (hearing listed for December 2026). The IPA also allows bulk interception and bulk equipment interference, and RIPA s49 disclosure notices make refusing to hand over a key a crime (up to 2 years, 5 in national-security cases).

Sources: Privacy International: Apple TCN challenge · Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000, s49

The person wants a prepaid SIM card and an internet connection without giving their identity.

The UK has no prepaid SIM registration law: the government rejected compulsory registration in 2007, and later police calls to revive it (2020) were not acted on, so pay-as-you-go SIMs are sold without ID. Fixed broadband contracts require a name and credit check, as any contract does. There are no real-name rules for online services, though Online Safety Act age checks apply to pornography sites.

Sources: Statewatch: UK calls to introduce mandatory SIM registration (2020)

The person wants to pay a dealer 15,000 USD (or the local equivalent) in cash for a used car.

There is no cash-payment limit. Under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017, a dealer must register with HMRC as a high value dealer before accepting €10,000 or more in cash (about £11,000–12,000 here), and must then identify the buyer, keep records and file suspicious activity reports where warranted. Many car dealers do not register and so refuse cash at this size. Large cash sums carried to the sale also risk POCA seizure (see K1).

Sources: HMRC: Money Laundering Regulations high value dealer registration

The person wants to found a new religion, or an association, and hold weekly meetings without registering it.

Religions and unincorporated associations need no registration or permission to exist or meet anywhere in the UK. Registration is needed only for charitable status, and even then not below £5,000 annual income (Charities Act 2011 s30). The only bans are proscription under the Terrorism Act 2000, which does not apply to a peaceful new religion.

Sources: Charities Act 2011, s30

The person organises a protest of 50 people in a public square with one day's notice to nobody. It is peaceful.

Advance notice (6 clear days) is required only for public processions (Public Order Act 1986 s11); static assemblies in a public square need none. Police may impose conditions under s14, and since the Public Order Act 2023 and Crime and Policing Act 2026 this includes conditions based on 'cumulative disruption' and face-covering zones. Some squares (Trafalgar Square, Parliament Square) are governed by byelaws or permits. Scotland and NI notice rules likewise apply to processions. A peaceful 50-person static protest normally draws no action against the organiser.

Sources: Public Order Act 1986, s11 · Liberty: Crime and Policing Act 2026 protest restrictions

The person publicly announces they have left the country's dominant religion, or Islam, and criticises it.

Apostasy is legal, and blasphemy was abolished in E&W in 2008 (CJIA 2008 s79) and in Scotland in 2021. Public Order Act 1986 s29J expressly protects criticism and ridicule of religions. Police protection is generally available, though some critics of Islam (e.g. the Batley teacher, 2021) have had to go into hiding.

Sources: Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008, s79

The person wants to move abroad permanently, taking 1 million USD of savings and shares.

There is no exit tax or capital control on individuals: a 20% 'settling-up' charge was floated before the November 2025 Budget but not adopted. Gains realised during a non-residence of 5 years or less are taxed on return. Since April 2025, a 'long-term resident' (10 of the previous 20 tax years in the UK) stays within UK inheritance tax on worldwide assets for 3 to 10 years after leaving.

Sources: Boodle Hatfield: long-term residence and UK IHT · PEM: what could an exit tax mean (Budget 2025)

The person, who already holds another citizenship, wants to renounce this one.

An adult holding another nationality renounces with a declaration on form RN plus the Home Office fee (£482, raised to about £513 in April 2026). Registration takes roughly 8–12 weeks. There is no tax clearance or military-service condition.

Sources: GOV.UK: Renounce British nationality · DavidsonMorris: Renounce British citizenship guide

Police find 20,000 USD in cash in the person's car at a traffic stop. They charge no crime.

Under Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 s294, police can seize cash of £1,000 or more on reasonable suspicion that it is recoverable property or intended for unlawful conduct, with no charge needed. Courts can extend detention for up to 2 years, and forfeiture (s298) is decided in the magistrates' court on the civil balance of probabilities. The owner must contest it to get the money back; account-freezing orders work the same way. These are routine civil proceedings.

Sources: Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, s294 · Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, s298

The person is arrested for a non-violent offence carrying up to 2 years in prison. They have a home and a job.

PACE 1984 s41 limits detention without charge to 24 hours (extendable to 36, and to 96 with a magistrate). A person charged and refused police bail must be brought before the next available magistrates' court. The Bail Act 1976 s4 gives a general right to bail, and money bail is not used. For a non-violent offence with a home and job, police normally release under investigation or on bail, sometimes with conditions.

Sources: Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, s41 · Bail Act 1976, s4

The person wants to build a 20 m² wooden shed on their own rural land.

A shed within the curtilage of the owner's house is permitted development (GPDO Class E: single storey, eaves at most 2.5 m, height at most 2.5 m within 2 m of a boundary), so no permit is needed. On a standalone rural plot outside a house's curtilage, however, it needs discretionary planning permission, and an unauthorised shed can get an enforcement notice; non-compliance is a criminal offence. Building regulations exempt a 20 m² non-sleeping outbuilding more than 1 m from the boundary. The English enforcement window was extended from 4 to 10 years in 2024 (TCPA 1990 s171B), but councils rarely pursue small sheds.

Sources: Planning Portal: outbuildings permitted development · Town and Country Planning Act 1990, s171B