By 'eck, ferret down me old trousers and go to the foot of our stairs.

Necessity is a defence? Luckily, I am, as you point out, not a lawyer. If I were, I might point out the difference between defence and mitigation. You cannot defend law breaking, only point out the circumstances that led to the offence to affect sentencing. Culpability is a bit more straight forward; is there evidence of the breach? (As a regulator, I am constantly reminded of this.)

I doubt many judges or real lawyers would ponder mitigation based on "he is richer than me." One of the fine points of UK law is that it is equal for all in theory. (Reality may be different at times, but you can only design a system, not the results of your design.)

Oh bugger, you've got me being all serious now.. Tell you what, instead of getting all hot & bothered, I'll search on M'unlearned friend's posts for a while. Give me a good chuckle.