Derek is regularly instructed in cases of considerable gravity, complexity and sensitivity including murder, fraud, serious sexual offences, drug supply, conspiracy, firearms and violence. Derek is a CPS panel advocate level 2 prosecutor.
Derek is experienced in cases involving technical and complex issues of road traffic law and accepts instructions in this area in certain circumstances.
Reported cases and cases of interest:
R v Popa and others [2010] EWCA Crim 2466 – Appeal against sentence in respect of fraudulent use of cloned credit cards of Japanese bank customers by a group of Romanian nationals in the UK. The court accepted that where criminal activity is within the scope of the ‘banking and insurance fraud’ sentencing guideline it is incorrect to sentence outside the prescribed range on the basis of the impact of the offending on the commercial system since such an impact is an inherent part of any activity to which the guideline applies.
R v Squire [2010] EWCA Crim 2190 – Appeal against sentence in respect of multiple offences of confidence fraud and theft in breach of trust. Court held that the principle of totality overrode even where sentences were correctly ordered to be served consecutively and where each sentence, taken individually, was properly passed in accordance with the applicable guidelines.
R v Ling (Central Criminal Court) – Murder. Fifty-year-old Surrey gardener of previous good character who killed his mistress after discovering her “infidelity”. Provocation defence.
R v JB (Taunton Crown Court) – Alleged rape of Complainant from the travelling community in which both Defendant and Complainant had significant histories of mental illness.
R v Court (Taunton Crown Court) – Alleged multiple historic rape of daughter. Complaint made following alleged sexual assault by the Defendant on the same Complainant when she was an adult.
R v P (Bristol Crown Court) – Multiple serious sexual assaults on young daughters of two separate work colleagues by Defendant when babysitting. Investigation led to the discovery of nearly a million images of children in various forms of electronic storage, approximately 200,000 of which were charged as indecent.
R v Woodman (Taunton Crown Court) – Multi-handed kidnap, blackmail, fraud, robbery and GBH related to the supply of class A drugs.
R v Green (Taunton Crown Court) – Multi-handed conspiracy to handle stolen goods and conspiracy to commit fraud relating to the theft, handling, and onward sale via ebay of plant and construction machinery valued at approximately £120,000.
Hillyer v Mendip District Council (1) and The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (2) [2008] UKUT 18 (AAC) – Appeared for the successful first respondent in one of the first ever cases to be heard under the jurisdiction of the Upper Tribunal (Administrative Appeals Chamber). The case gave authority on the previously undecided issue of whether or not the amendments to the law relating to the recovery of overpayments of housing benefits introduced by the Housing Benefits Regulations 2006 had retrospective effect.
Crime Clerks:
Bonnie Colbeck
E: bonnie.colbeck@albionchambers.co.uk
T: 0117 311 0301
Ken Duthie
E: ken.duthie@albionchambers.co.uk
T: 0117 311 0368
