The Burden of Proof is a 1968 crime novel by the British writer James Barlow.

Vic Dakin, a crime lord with a vast empire across London takes place on a raid on a wages van that goes wrong.

Needing an alibi he arranges to blackmail a corrupt MP with evidence of his sexual wrongdoing to give perjured testimony in court.

In 1971, it was adapted into the British film Villain directed by Michael Tuchner and starring Richard Burton, Ian McShane and Nigel Davenport.

[1][2] As a tie-in with the film, the novel was reissued with the alternative title Villain.