Crime

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From the inception of Chambers in 1984, the work of Tooks' Crime Team has been at the cutting-edge and never far from the headlines, with its members invariably featuring in the major cases of the day. We have brought the highest degree of dedication and expertise to every case - many of which are conducted in the full glare of public scrutiny.

The team extends from celebrated silks of the highest seniority to capable juniors just setting out on their careers. The Crime Team offers a comprehensive service to professional and lay clients, conducting cases from the Magistrates' Court all the way through to the Supreme Court, the Privy Council, the European Court of Human Rights, and other international courts and tribunals. Underpinning all cases that we conduct, from the most complex to the relatively straightforward, is Chambers' unwavering, long-standing and proven commitment to criminal defence.

The quality and ability of Tooks' Crime Team has been consistently recognised by Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500, with Tooks Chambers being recommended as a leading set in crime and praised in 2009 as "an excellent set of chambers with counsel of vast experience, and very efficient clerks"

Work undertaken by the team includes:

General crime:

Including murder; manslaughter; organised crime; sexual offences; violent offences; drug trafficking and other related crimes; people trafficking and facilitation; money laundering; confiscation; dishonesty related offences; and public order offences.

Recent high profile cases include:

• Angela and Ian Gay acquitted of salt poisoning;
• Barry George, in relation to the murder of Jill Dando;
• Smith & Others, acquittals of prison officers for gross negligence manslaughter;
• Brooke & Others, the largest counterfeiting operation to be detected in the UK to date;
• the murder trial of Special Constable Nisha Patel-Nasri;
• the murder of Tulay Goren - the honour killing;
• the Securitas Robbery of £53 million in cash from the Securitas Depot in Tonbridge, Kent, the largest cash robbery committed in the UK's history;
• Brian Haw and other Parliament Square protestors in relation to SOCPA and other offences.

Anti-terror/National security:

With established specialists in the team, rare has been the terrorism case post 9/11 which has not featured at least one member of the team, whose expertise is now harnessed in Chambers' specialist Terrorism Group

Recent high profile cases include:

• the Airline Bomb Plot;
• the 7/7 London Bombings;
• the Glasgow Airport Terror Plot trial;
• the Fertiliser Bomb Plot;
• the Bradford Terrorist Propaganda appeal;
• the 21/7 London Bombers;
• Terrorist Training Camp trial;
• the Muslim Soldier Beheading Plot;
• the Radical Preachers trial.

Appellate:

Pioneering work by members of the Crime team in miscarriages of justice cases, in particular the Birmingham Six and the Guildford Four, led directly to the government's decision to set up the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Team members continue to lead the way in taking on ground-breaking appellate work.

Members specialise in appeals which continue to shape and redefine critical legal principles:

• Pendleton, where the House of Lords defined the test for fresh evidence cases;
• Zafar, defining the scope of section 57 of the Terrorism Act 2000;
• Matthews, where the murder conviction was quashed after the original trial counsel wrongly waived privilege.

Work undertaken by the team also includes the exposure of unreliable scientific 'evidence' that had previously been considered infallible and the use of scientific evidence to expose miscarriages of justice:

• the Shaken Baby cases;
• Salt Poisoning case;
• Cot Death (Angela Cannings) case involving biased expert;
• grossly unreliable forensic testing in Guildford Four and Birmingham Six;
• ESDA testing proved fabrication of 'confessions' in the Carl Bridgewater case.

As part of its multidisciplinary approach, the Crime team also works alongside other teams to pool expertise and resources and to provide a more streamlined and efficient service:

Actions against the Police, Inquests and Inquiries:

With its inimitable blend of expertise in criminal and public law, Crime team members have been involved in almost all of the high profile and landmark inquests and inquiries over the last two decades. The team has barristers at all levels of seniority and draws on the set's public law expertise. Past cases include the

• Jean Charles De Menezes Inquest;
• Dodi and Diana Inquest;
• Dublin and Monaghan Bombing Inquest;
• Tom Hurndall and James Miller Inquests;
• Stephen Lawrence Inquiry;
• Bloody Sunday Inquiry;

See Actions Against the Police & Inquests

Extradition:

Members are experienced in advising and representing clients in relation to extradition, having appeared in numerous leading cases. Examples include:

• Kociukow v District of Bialystock;
• R v Karpichkow;
• R v Auchi;
• R v Solimanpoor;
• R v Al Fawwaz & Others.

International Criminal Law & Work in other jurisdictions:

Crime team members have particular expertise of litigation at international courts and tribunals including the ICC, ICTY and the ICTR as well as in various other jurisdictions. Recent notable cases include:

• Prosecutor v Haradinaj et al (ICTY);
• Prosecutor v Limaj et al, (ICTY);
• appeal in the case of Prosecutor v Barayagwiza, (ICTR);

Members of the team are heavily involved in cases of universal jurisdiction and made the first successful application for an arrest warrant under the Geneva Conventions Act 1957 for war crimes against Doron Almog. Team members continue to provide representation in US death row cases. A substantial amount of work is undertaken on a pro bono basis. See international law

Members of the team contribute regularly to various legal publications and lecture extensively, both at home and abroad on issues relating to criminal justice. As part of the Legal Snapshots Series, the team offers regular public conferences and seminars to legal professionals in the field available on this website. See Seminars & Events

Ongoing cases

• Baha Mousa Public Inquiry - into the death of an Iraqi civilian in British military custody;
• Advising senior members of the Syrian Army in relation to the UN Criminal Tribunal established following the murder of Rafik Hariri;
• Advising President Omar al-Bahir of Sudan, the first serving head-of-state to be indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

Upcoming cases

• the British Soldier Spy case;
• the Pat Finucane Inquiry (the solicitor murdered in his north Belfast home by UDA members).

Further Information

Further information about individual members of our Criminal team can be obtained using the links to the right. You can also contact our clerks directly:

• Alistair Roberts 020 7842 7614 alistair.roberts@tooks.co.uk

• Kieran McCool 020 7842 7612 kieran.mccool@tooks.co.uk

Recent news

Gaza Protest Sentences Cut
A group of Tooks lawyers scored a notable victory in the Court of Appeal on July 13th when Joel Bennathan QC, Garry Green, Sam Robinson, Sultana Tafadar and Srikantharajah Nereshraaj represented 6 out of the 10 protesters who were before the court.
22 July 2010
Kirsty Scamp Freed
After a campaign by Justice for Women, Kirsty Scamp's appeal against her murder conviction reached the court of Appeal on 21st July. In 2006 she had stabbed her violent boyfriend as he attacked her in their home. The Court quashed the murder conviction and substituted one of manslaughter, varying the sentence to allow for her immediate release.
22 July 2010
Michel Massih QC - BLD Lawyer of the Month!
Congratulations to Michel Massih QC, the world’s sole practising Queen’s Counsel of Palestinian origin, who has been selected as BLD’s Lawyer of the Month.
5 July 2010
Anti-arms Campaigners Claiming Prevention of War Crimes Acquitted of Conspiracy to Cause Criminal Damage at Arms Factory
Today at the Hove Crown court the last of the campaigners known as the EDO decommissioners were acquitted.
2 July 2010
Chambers UK 2011 - Tooks Barristers Featured as Leaders at the Bar
Tooks barristers continue to score in the latest edition of Chambers UK, due to be published in November 2010. Individual members have been recognised in Administrative and Public Law; Civil Liberties; Crime; Employment; Immigration and Police law.
2 July 2010
‘Shaken Baby’ Father Has Conviction Overturned by Court of Appeal
A father whose conviction for harming his baby daughter in a "shaken baby syndrome" case has had his conviction overturned by the Court of Appeal.
1 July 2010
Leave to Appeal Given in Landmark Torture Case
On 30th June Rangzieb Ahmed, the only man ever convicted of directing Al Qaeda operations in the UK was given leave to appeal against his convictions. The grounds include the allegation that British complicity in his torture in Pakistan was so unconscionable that his trial should never have been allowed to take place.
1 July 2010
Man Who Posed as British Leader of al-Qaida Jailed
Ishaq Kanmi, who called for the assassination of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown on a jihadi website, was sentenced to five years today.
24 June 2010
Bloody Sunday Report Published
Lord Saville’s report into the deaths of 13 people killed when Parachute Regiment soldiers opened fire during a civil rights march in Londonderry on Bloody Sunday, 30th January 1972, has finally been published.
16 June 2010
Belfast Jury Acquits "Raytheon 9" of Attempting to Damage Arms Factory during Gaza Conflict
9 women accused of offences related to attempted damage to an arms factory in Derry during the Israel Gaza conflict have been acquitted by a jury in Belfast Crown Court.
4 June 2010

[Image] Crime