The general approach was laid down by Lord Denning in Southwark London Borough Council v Williams (1971) 2 AER 175 that necessity should be denied as a general defence because otherwise anarchy and disorder would follow. If hunger was allowed to become the basis of necessity, any poor person might seek to justify burglary to steal food by arguing that he or she had reasonably believed that this was a proportionate response to the threat of malnutrition. Thus, the fact that hunger does not arise spontaneously, and there are other ways in which to seek relief from poverty (e.g.
The fundamental approach was established by Lord Denning in Southwark London Borough Council v Williams (1971) 2 AER 175, which posits that necessity should be denied as a general defense due to the potential for chaos and disorder. This ruling prevents individuals from justifying extreme actions, such as burglary, by claiming they were acting out of desperation.