In the light of recent high-profile miscarriages of justice, this work examines the procedures and prominence of confessional evidence and interrogation. Their role in the English legal system is charted from the Middle Ages. The development, regulation and legitimation of extra-judicial interrogation is assessed in order to provide illumination on modern practices. Regarding the modern period, methods and strategies used to procure such evidence are analyzed both pre- and post- the introduction of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. The extent to which evidence may be fabricated and the degree to which official accounts of interrogation may be relied upon are both discussed.