Admitting a crime

[Andy008]

Under English law, would a person be automatically charged with an offence if they freely admitted to it, irrespective of any evidence ?

I.e. their is nothing but circumstantial evidence, yet a person admits responsibilty, even though there exists nothing to solidly connect them to the offence?

[kempie]

In England and Wales a confession is evidence in and of itself, although if no other evidence of a crime exists, or in some other circumstances, the confessor's mental health may well come under scrutiny.

http://www.forensicmed.co.uk/confessions.htm
http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/section13/chapter_b.html

[Loosehead]

Generally the police will investigate the circumstances to determine if the person could have committed the crime. With high profile crimes there are often a lot of nutters confessing and the police will have to determine if they possibly could have done it.

[Grunty]

The evidence will always be available, even though it may not be required in court. It is always possible that the plea will be changed to 'not guilty' at the last minute.