"The 2000 R.I.P. Act supposedly made it illegal to withhold a requested key to protected (encrypted) information. However, to my knowledge this is untested in c

"The 2000 R.I.P. Act supposedly made it illegal to withhold a requested key to protected (encrypted) information. However, to my knowledge this is untested in court." Your knowledge is out of date -- see: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/14/ripa_encryption_key_notice/ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/14/ripa_encryption_key_... ("animal rights activist hit with RIPA key disclosure order") http://www.out-law.com/page-9514 http://www.out-law.com/page-9514 ("Court of Appeal orders men to disclose encryption keys") Also, the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act (1994) allows juries to draw adverse conclusions from a defendant's failure to give evidence or answer questions (and a few other similar matters) -- this was brought in during the aftermath of the Stephen Lawrence affair.