Criminal Prosecutions

Members of chambers have unrivalled experience in the prosecution of the highest profile cases brought before the courts in this country over the last 20 years.  Cases prosecuted within Chambers during this period include:

• The prosecutions of Jeffrey Archer and Jonathan Aitken,
• Various Official Secret Act cases including the prosecution of David Shayler,
• Numerous terrorist cases including the IRA’s bombing of the Grand Hotel in Brighton and of Canary Wharf, and the al Qa’eda "Heathrow bombers" airline plot,
• the Jill Dando and numerous other high profile murder trials including the Saudi Prince who murdered his servant in a London hotel,
• Various MPs in respect of fraudulent expenses claims,
• Night Stalker case (R v Delroy Grant).

In London members of chambers are counsel of choice for many branches of the Metropolitan Police’s Specialist Crime Directorate and cases investigated by the Flying Squad, the Specialist Intelligence Section, the Projects Team, the Central Task Force and the Kidnap Unit amongst others. We regularly receive instructions from the CPS Special Crime and Counter-Terrorism Division, the Organised Crime Division, the Serious Crime Group, the Special Casework Unit and the Central Fraud Group as well at Borough level.

Signalling our ongoing commitment to undertaking work for Government agencies, Chambers has established a team of specialist prosecutors, operating at all levels from the very junior to silks.  Members of the team who undertake prosecution work (typically as part of a mixed practice) also represent the CPS and the Attorney General in the House of Lords and in the Court of Appeal and also in the Administrative Court in related public law challenges.

Our involvement in prosecution work extends to advice provided to Government departments and to the Treasury Solicitor, the intelligence agencies, to police services and to other prosecuting agencies (including the Serious Fraud Office, the Health and Safety Executive, the Environment Agency and various local authorities). Within chambers there are ‘developed vetted’ and security cleared counsel. Members of chambers are also highly experienced in the pre-charge preparation of long-running investigations (particularly commercial fraud) and in developing the strategy and in managing and running teams of investigators and lawyers. Such cases frequently involve highly sensitive work and enquiries with consequent PII issues. We have experience in dealing with restraint and confiscation proceedings under POCA.

Chambers presently boasts four members of Treasury Counsel’s Room, seven former Treasury Counsel (three of whom served as First Senior Treasury Counsel. We also have counsel who can provide coverage at all levels of CPS grading. 

The prosecution team is led by Jonathan Laidlaw QC, Ken Millett and Angus Bunyan. 

For further information on our prosecutions work, please contact our Senior Clerk, Nathan Lee-Walsh.