But there is a darker side to this legislative hyperactivism. Two features in the new legal landscape cast a real chill. The first is the growth of “strict liability” offences. These are crimes which you can commit without any intention to do so. Recently we had to defend the owner of a small boatyard who poured some concrete to repair a seawall damaged in February storms, and was prosecuted for carrying out unlicensed repairs to a sea defence under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. It did not help him that he had a license in writing for the work because it turned out that the license was not in the proper form. Even though there was no evidence of any harm to the environment he was convicted and heavily fined.