What is the effect of the defence of provocation on the jury?

At the conclusion of the further charge, the trial Judge said: “Does that explain the problem that was bothering you?” The foreman said that it did. After deliberating for a further period of only 11 minutes the jury returned with a verdict of guilty. The jury, unlike the jury in Linney v. The Queen, supra, did not at any time indicate that they were troubled by the defence of provocation. Having rejected the appellant’s version of the shooting on the issue of self‑defence, and the defence of intoxication, and in view of the appellant’s own evidence negativing any reaction to the alleged provocation, I am satisfied that the verdict would necessarily have been the same if the trial Judge had expressly related the principle of reasonable doubt to provocation.