Tom has discovered that his ex-boyfriend David has formed a new relationship very shortly after their five year partnership ended. He is furious and decides to confront David at his flat. On arrival he notices an old Ford car in the driveway, which he knows belongs to David’s new partner, Kasem. In that instant jealousy takes over, he grabs a stone from the floor and scrapes it along the side of the car door, leaving a scratch.
At that moment David, who is inside the flat, notices Tom acting strangely beside Kasem’s car. He opens the window and calls out to Tom to ask what he is doing. Enraged, Tom throws the stone he was using at David, though luckily for David it misses him and smashes the window glass instead.
David is really upset at Tom’s actions, so his partner Kasem tries to calm him down by pointing out that there were so many scratches on his car already, one more does not really matter. Later that night however, David decides to get his revenge on Tom. When he is sure that no one will be around, he goes to Tom’s antiques furniture shop and sets fire to it. Unbeknown to David, Tom was working late in the back office catching up with some paperwork and sustains burns making his escape. The furniture inside the shop cannot be saved.
Discuss the criminal liability (if any) of both David and Tom for offences under the Criminal Damage Act 1971.
