(1)An agreement or combination by two or more persons to do or procure to be done an act in contemplation or furtherance of a trade dispute is not indictable as a conspiracy if that act committed by one person would not be punishable as a crime.
(2)A crime for this purpose means an offence punishable on indictment, or an offence punishable on summary conviction, and for the commission of which the offender is liable under the statute making the offence punishable to be imprisoned either absolutely or at the discretion of the court as an alternative for some other punishment.
(3)Where a person is convicted of any such agreement or combination as is mentioned above to do or procure to be done an act which is punishable only on summary conviction, and is sentenced to imprisonment, the imprisonment shall not exceed three months or such longer time as may be prescribed by the statute for the punishment of the act when committed by one person.
(4)Nothing in this section—
(a)exempts from punishment a person guilty of a conspiracy for which a punishment is awarded by an Act of Parliament, or
(b)affects the law relating to riot, unlawful assembly, breach of the peace, [F1or sedition] or any offence against the State or the Sovereign.
(5)This section extends to Scotland only.
Textual Amendments
F1Words in s. 243(4)(b) repealed (S.) (28.3.2011) by Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 13), s. 206(1), sch. 7 para. 19; S.S.I. 2011/178, art. 2, sch.