Overview
- Field’s case, which the Court of Appeal ruled on Thursday, saw his 2019 murder conviction overturned with a retrial ordered.
- Lord Justice Edis said the trial judge’s directions were defective because they removed from jurors the question of voluntariness in Mr Farquhar’s drinking.
- The Crown Prosecution Service may seek a Supreme Court hearing before any retrial, and Field will remain in prison while such an appeal is pending.
- Prosecutors at the original trial alleged Field covertly gave tranquilizers and spiked whisky so the 2015 death would look accidental, after a post‑mortem found acute alcohol toxicity.
- The Criminal Cases Review Commission referred the case in 2025 following failed appeal bids, prompting a March 2026 hearing that led to Thursday’s ruling.