[simonh]

Ok, the situation is more nuanced than I might have indicated. There is a right to silence in criminal law, and you can remain silent in civil law too. You cannot be prosecuted for remaining silent, or directly legally coerced into giving a statement.

However, specific inferences can be drawn from your silence in some circumstances. For example not mentioning something in you statement to police that you later rely on for your defence in court can be taken into account.

So we don't have an absolute right to remain silent, and doing so under suspicious circumstances can get you in trouble, but you can't be prosecuted just for not making a statement.