Christopher Gillespie

Criminal Regulatory

In the days of the AG’s list Chris was instructed to prosecute cases on behalf of the HSE. However, since 2010 he has acted exclusively for the defence including cases involving death and serious injury and is now ranked by the Legal 500 as a leading junior.

Chris regularly acts for the owners of care homes facing criminal regulatory intervention whether by the CQC, HSE or local authorities.

In environmental cases Chris acts for the defence in prosecutions brought by the EA or local authorities in relation to permitting breaches and/or pollution. He specialises in cases involving statutory nuisance including noise pollution. In this context much of his work is advisory, liaising with prosecuting authorities to avoid prosecution. As a result of his practice prosecuting and defending in the criminal courts he has a particular specialism in environmental cases that involve a confiscation hearing.

Recent cases in which Chris has been instructed include:

• A fatality at a waste transfer station which led to a five day Newton hearing at which the judge rejected the vast majority of the aggravating features alleged by the HSE leading to a substantially reduced sentence and order for costs.
• Severe lead poisoning of two operatives who were working on a marine structure in the Solent. The poisoning was so acute that the hospital used the entire UK stock of medicine to treat the operatives.
• A serious fall from height and a crushing accident in separate incidents at the warehouse of a major logistics company.
• Defending a national chain of health clubs for offences at one of its clubs under Food Safety and Hygiene legislation.
• Advising a police force in relation to a neighbour complaint concerning noise from the dog kennels.
• Acting for a hunt in nuisance proceedings concerning the level and frequency of noise from its kennels.
• Advising on the use to which material disclosed in potential civil proceedings may or may not be used for the purposes of an HSE investigation/inquest.

Chris has lectured widely on the fees for intervention regime, the effect of s85 of LAPSO, fines for very large organisations, the proposed sentencing guidelines for corporate manslaughter and health and safety offences involving death and criminal confiscation in environmental cases and the role of the CQC in the regulation of care homes.