Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951

United Kingdom legislation

England and Wales
Scotland

DatesRoyal assent22 June 1951 (1951-06-22)Repealed26 May 2008 (2008-05-26)Other legislationRepeals/revokesWitchcraft Act 1735Repealed byConsumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008

Status: Repealed

Text of statute as originally enacted

The Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951 (14 & 15 Geo. 6. c. 33) was a law in England and Wales which prohibited a person from claiming to be a psychic, medium, or other spiritualist while attempting to deceive and to make money from the deception (other than solely for the purpose of entertainment). It repealed the Witchcraft Act 1735, and it was in turn repealed on 26 May 2008^[1] by Schedule 4 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008^[2] implementing the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005 which targeted unfair sales and marketing practices. It also changed section four of the Vagrancy Act 1824 to ensure that it is still enforced with the acts.

There were five prosecutions under this Act between 1980 and 1995, all resulting in conviction.^[3]

References

^ "Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 8 May 2008, SI 2008/1277
^ Rohrer, Finlo; Bell, Sarah (18 April 2008). "There may be trouble ahead". BBC News Magazine. BBC News. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
^ Finkelstein, Daniel (11 April 2007). "All that clairvoyant stuff – I don't see it myself". The Times. London: News International. Retrieved 17 November 2018.