(1)A hearsay statement is not admissible to prove the fact that an earlier hearsay statement was made unless—
(a)either of the statements is admissible under section 117, 119 or 120,
(b)all parties to the proceedings so agree, or
(c)the court is satisfied that the value of the evidence in question, taking into account how reliable the statements appear to be, is so high that the interests of justice require the later statement to be admissible for that purpose.
(2) In this section “hearsay statement” means a statement, not made in oral evidence, that is relied on as evidence of a matter stated in it.
Cases considering section 121 19
[2025] EWCA Crim 1632 · 15 December 2025
The court upheld the trial judge’s consideration and application of section 121 to potentially multiple-hearsay evidence. The judge assessed reliability and whether the evidence was of such high value that admission was in the interests of justice. (see Annex 1)
[2025] EWCA Crim 1036 · 30 July 2025Interprets
The court treats section 121 as the statutory gateway for multiple hearsay and recognises that such evidence is excluded unless the relevant admission condition is met. It also recognises that the fairness safeguard under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 remains available. (see paras [5]–[9])
The court states that a later statement may be admitted to prove an earlier hearsay statement only where the evidence has sufficiently high value, taking account of apparent reliability, and the interests of justice require admission. The Court did not finally decide whether that condition was met. (see paras [5], [102])
The court confirms that the alleged confession is a hearsay statement for the statutory scheme and that hearsay remains subject to the relevant safeguards. (see paras [6], [9])
The court confirms that section 78 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 is preserved in relation to hearsay evidence and required separate consideration on the facts, although the appeal was decided under section 125. (see paras [9], [106])
[2022] EWCA Crim 1784 · 13 December 2022
The court upheld the judge's application of the multiple-hearsay test, with the factors in section 114(2) used as guidance. The admission disclosed no arguable error. (see para [17])
What each judgment says about section 121 is in the case-law panel in the full Act.
416.This section sets out the approach which the courts should take to multiple hearsay. “Multiple hearsay” is where information passes through more than one person before it is recorded.
417.Under the section a hearsay statement is admissible to prove the fact that another statement was made in three circumstances. These are:
Either of the statements is admissible under sections 117 (business documents) 119 (inconsistent statements) or 120 (other previous statement of a witnesses);
All parties to the proceedings agree; or
The court uses its discretion to admit the statement.
418.The test for the court in deciding whether to exercise its discretion is whether it is satisfied that the value of the evidence in question, taking into account how reliable the statement appears to be, is so high that the interests of justice require the later statement to be admissible for that purpose. This discretion is intended to cover exceptional circumstances where although multiple hearsay does not fall within one of the specified categories for admissibility (in section 121 (1)(a) or (b)) it nevertheless should be admitted in the interests of justice.