The Court of Appeal ruled that recourse to the Hansard was not justified in order to clarify Parliament’s intentions as to the meaning of the phrase “folding pocketknife”, the possession of which had led to the appellant’s conviction. The Court of Appeal however ruled that the conditions laid down in Pepper v Hart had not been satisfied and that for the court to rely on parliamentary records of debate, on a term which was inherently open to interpretation, was not justified.