There are three elements to the so-called rule in Wilkinson v Downton [1897] 2 QB 57, [1895-99] All ER Rep 267: (i) a conduct element; (ii) a mental element; and (iii) a consequence element. The first requires that words or conduct are directed to the claimant for which there is no justification or excuse. Second, the defendant must actually intend to cause psychiatric harm, severe mental or emotional distress to the claimant. Third, the necessary consequence of liability must be physical harm or recognised psychiatric illness: see Rhodes v OPO [2015] UKSC 32, [2015] 4 All ER 1 and Wainwright v Home Office [2003] UKHL 53, [2003] 4 All ER 969.
In Wilkinson itself, the defendant, by way of a practical joke, informed the claimant that her husband had been injured in an accident and was lying at the Elms, public house, in Leytonstone with both legs broken, and that
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