Court case(1909) 26 TLR 139

The plaintiff, a suffragette, was sentenced to imprisonment and, in protest, refused all food in prison. When her health began to be seriously endangered, the prison medical officers fed her forcibly by means of a tube. She sued the Home Secretary (Herbert Gladstone), the governor and the medical officers of the prison for assault and battery. The defendants pleaded that the feeding was necessary to save her life and that no more force was used than was necessary. The action was tried before a jury.

Lord Alverstone CJ directed the jury that it was the duty of the prison officials to preserve the health and lives of the prisoners in their custody, and that if the jury found that the plaintiff's life was in danger and that the forcible feeding was carried out with no more force than was necessary, the defendants were justified. The jury found for the defendants. Necessity was accepted as a justification for the force used to keep the prisoner alive.