... defendant must always be aware of the risk in order to satisfy this test of recklessness. In addition his conduct must have been unreasonable. Until the case of R v G and another the leading case on subjective recklessness was R v Cunningham. In R v Cunningham the defendant broke a gas meter to steal the money in it and the gas seeped out into the house next door. Cunningham's prospective mother-in-law was sleeping there, and became so ill that her life was endangered. Cunningham was charged under s. 23 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 with 'maliciously administering a noxious thing so as to endanger life'. The Court of Appeal said that 'maliciously' meant intentionally or recklessly. They defined recklessness as where: "The accused has foreseen that the particular kind of harm might be done and yet has gone on to take the risk of it." This ...

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