The repeal of rule 9 of the Indictment Rules 1971 and its replacement by Crim PR 3.21(4), has removed the technical barriers to joinder under section 4 of the Indictments Act 1915, in appropriate cases. In a case where the evidence on one count would properly be admissible on the other, as evidence of bad character, it is difficult to argue that the defendant would be prejudiced or embarrassed in his defence by having both counts or sets of counts on the same indictment, pursuant to section 5(3) of the 1915 Act. The judge is not required to order severance of the indictment and separate trials, unless, on their proper construction, the Crim PR compels it or there is some other factor, such as the need to avoid overloading the indictment or over-burdening the jury, which makes separate trials desirable (para 13).

Per curiam. It is doubtful that charges of indecency with young children between 1986 and 1991 and of possession of child pornography on a laptop and USB sticks in 2015 could be said to form part of a series of offences of the same or a similar character (para 7).