1994
Silk: 2017

Brian has been instructed exclusively in criminal defence work throughout his career. A strong work ethic allied to fantastic client care means that there is always a queue of Solicitors and Defendants seeking his professional services. He is widely regarded as being within the very top of his profession and a pleasure to work with.

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YEAR OF CALL: 1994
KING’S COUNSEL: 2017
HEAD OF CHAMBERS: 2022 to date

Expertise

Exclusively criminal defence and inquests – Brian specialises in murder, fraud and sex
offences.

He has experience of representing celebrity clients, professional sports persons (and their
families) facing criminal and disciplinary proceedings.

Notable Cases

Murder

Brian has been instructed in excess of 100 murder trials, including allegations of international contract killings, rival gang murders, transferred malice and murder within the home.

Advised and retained to represent a person being extradited to England to face a murder allegation.

Advised and retained to represent a person being extradited to England to face a manslaughter allegation.

Summary of cases:

R v J – Southwark Crown Court, represented a Defendant accused of killing a man with a machine gun.

R v J – Kingston Crown Court, represented a youth Defendant accused of a joint enterprise murder.

R v A – Inner London Crown Court, represented Defendant, with a psychiatric background, accused of murder.

R v H – Central Criminal Court, represented a Defendant accused of a rival gang member execution (shooting).

R v L – Oxford Crown Court, represented a Defendant accused of stabbing to death a drugs customer.

R v P-R – Central Criminal Court, represented a Defendant charged with murder who was recruited as part of a team to attack a man who had assaulted his friend.

R v M – Central Criminal Court, represented a Defendant accused of shooting to death a person mistakenly identified as a rival gang member.

R v G – St. Albans Crown Court, represented a Defendant hired to kill a husband who refused to divorce his wife.

R v M-C – Nottingham Crown Court, revenge gang-land murder.

R v P – Central Criminal Court, rival gangs. Multiple stabbing of victim.

R v P   Central Criminal Court, a drug dealer in his home accused of murdering a person seeking to rob him of his drugs stash.

R v I – Central Criminal Court, torture and revenge gangland killing.

U v R – Court of Appeal, murder of a child.

R v Y – Central Criminal Court, gangland killing.

R v B – Central Criminal Court, honey-trap murder, organised from a prison cell.

R v M and Others – International contract killing between Colombia, Spain and the United Kingdom. Stated to be the biggest disclosure exercise ever undertaken by the Metropolitan Police.  A ‘Super Grass’ case.

G v R – Successfully resisting a double jeopardy application before the Court of Appeal to retry a Defendant acquitted of murder based upon Super Grass evidence.

R v J and Others – Represented a Defendant accused of killing an elderly woman with her two step-grandchildren.

R v D – St. Albans Crown Court: Represented a Defendant charged with murder who had been subject to a campaign of harassment on the basis of a false accusation of being a paedophile.

R v C – Southwark Crown Court: Defendant charged with murder of his friend accidentally stabbed during the course of a fight outside a nightclub.

R v W (2004) EWCA Crim. 2770 – Guideline case on murder tariffs.

Attempted Murder

Numerous cases including:

R v M – Bristol Crown Court, Defendant accused of attempting to murder a drug dealer in the course of a robbery.

R v A – Kingston Crown Court, Defendant accused of attempting to kill the complainant with an axe.

R v O – Central Criminal Court, Defendant accused of attempting to kill a rival gang member.

R v A-M – Harrow Crown Court, Defendant accused of attacking a rival gang member in an off-licence with a knife whilst members of the public were present.

R v T Snaresbrook Crown Court, Defendant accused of shooting the complainant 7 times at point blank range.

Represented a Defendant accused of a frenzied knife attack resulting in 17 stab wounds.   

Grevious bodily harm with Intent

Brian has represented numerous people charged with GBH, including London riots 2012 cases, organised fights between rival gangs in parks and open-air spaces, knife attacks, gangland torture (for example, placing a hot iron to the chest and cigarette burning to the skin) and defended a man accused of biting both of his wife’s eyelids off. 

Fraud

Instructed in a wide variety of high value frauds (multi million pounds).

Particular experience in Very High Cost Cases.

Extensive experience of Proceeds of Crime Act cases.

Extensive experience of all types of VAT and Benefit frauds.

Recent cases include:

R v S – Southwark Crown Court, multi-million pounds money laundering.

R v P – Central Criminal Court, multi-million pounds bank fraud.

R v A – Birmingham Crown Court, represented the organiser of a large-scale sham marriage operation.

R v M – Birmingham Crown Court, a multi-million pound VAT fraud.

R v K – Leicester Crown Court, £4 million mortgage fraud.

R v B – Canterbury Crown Court, large scale document fraud which facilitated the fraudulent entry of 110 persons into the UK.

R v H – Southwark Crown Court, a £28 million VAT fraud.

R v K – Harrow Crown Court, Local Authority fraud committed by a senior manager.

Historic cases have included:

£1million fraud from a national supermarket chain in which a transvestite manager embezzled the money to fund his proposed sex change and his alleged prostitute mistress.

Carousel frauds, involving monies in excess of £10 million.

R v P Leicester Crown Court, £5 million MTIC fraud.

Firearms offences

Summary of cases include:

R v O C – Croydon Crown Court, represented a Defendant charged with possession of firearms and conspiracy with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

R v D-M – Wood Green Crown Court, Defendant charged with transportation of firearms used in previous incidents upon rival gang members.

R v B – Teeside Crown Court. Super Grass case. Allegation that the Defendant attended the address of a rival drug gang member and discharged bullets into a residential address to force the return of stolen drugs.

R v F – Snaresbrook Crown Court, Defendant charged with discharging a live firearm with intent to endanger life outside a nightclub.

R v G – Harrow Crown Court, Defendant responsible for shooting of a rival gang member.

R v P – Woolwich Crown Court, armed robbery.

R v N – Inner London Crown Court, armed robbery.

Summary of cases:

  • Armed robberies of turf accountants, racetrack premises, post-offices and off-licences.
  • International conspiracy to supply firearms.
  • Carjacking with a firearm
  • Possession with intent to endanger life (a Defendant found in possession of 16 firearms including automatic weapons).
  • Possession of firearms.

Rape and other serious sexual offences

  • Serial rape.
  • Multiple rapes of child victims.
  • Sexual activity with a child.
  • Particular experience of rape allegations within ethnic communities.

Summary of cases:

R v M – Wood Green Crown Court, serial rape of 6 different women, at knifepoint, whilst
filming some of the rapes

R v C – Woolwich Crown Court, multiple historic rapes and sexual assaults upon nieces within the home.

R v I – Maidstone Crown Court, Defendant accused of multiple rapes upon his stepdaughter.

R v J – Croydon Crown Court, Defendant accused of punching and beating his ex-partner to force her to have sexual intercourse with him.

R v P – Reading Crown Court, Defendant accused of rape within a long-term sexual relationship.

R v M – Central Criminal Court, Defendant accused of drugging and raping two different victims. In addition, opposing a bad character application to adduce his previous acquittal in respect of a third complainant raped in similar circumstances.

R v P – Snaresbrook Crown Court, multiple rapes of a 5 year old female.

R v I – Woolwich Crown Court, vaginal and oral rape of a stranger contacted via the internet.

R v P – Inner London Crown Court, gang rape of a minor.

R v Y – Aylesbury Crown Court, historic multiple rapes and sexual activity with stepdaughters between the ages of 8 to 16 years.

R v A – Blackfriars Crown Court. Forced marriage of a 14 year old girl. Multiple rapes within marriage (including allegations of the digital removal of stitches, prior to vaginal rape, post birth).

Other cases:

A man accused of indecently assaulting prostitutes and then subjecting them to violent attacks over a 5-year period.

Other cases involving multiple rapes of a minor.

Drug offences

Instructed in a wide number of cases involving conspiracies to supply both class A and B drugs.

Summary of cases:

  • Conspiracy to supply class ‘A’ drugs.
  • Conspiracy to import class ‘A’ drugs into the UK.
  • Importation of in excess of £3 million of cocaine across multiple countries hidden in golf bags.
  • Conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin as a franchise in Gloucester.
  • International conspiracy to supply drugs covering 3 continents.
  • £4.5 million importation of class A and B drugs.
  • Accusing the police of ‘fitting up’ a defendant accused of possession of class ‘A’ drugs with intent to supply.
  • Undercover police operations to break up drugs rings.

Sports-related cases

Brian has experience of all aspects of football-related offenses, professional football and professional cricket regulations.

He has experience in handling footballers and cricketers facing criminal and disciplinary allegations and is sensitive to ways in which suggested criminal activity has an impact upon club and/or players’ agents, who have direct responsibility for the conduct of their players and/or clients.  Brian is often instructed to advise pre-charge to prevent criminal or regulatory proceedings being instituted.

He has a passion for cricket. He is a qualified cricket coach. Has friends and associates at all levels of the cricketing fraternity including former professional cricketers, County Cricket Administrators, ECB Advisors and County Academy groups. As such, he is uniquely placed to understand the modern day cricketer and the regulations which they operate under. Also to represent those cricketers who face disciplinary proceedings.

 

Summary of cases:

R v D – Representing the brother of a professional footballer accused of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

R v GG and others – Represented Mr G, a professional footballer, who was charged with murder.

R v JC – Represented Mr C, who was charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent, inflicted following allegations made against his brother.

Actions against the Police

Summary of cases:

  • Malicious prosecution by the police against a minor for arson whom the police knew did not commit the offence.
  • A woman caused Post Traumatic Stress Disorder by police officers attending her home address to arrest her son.
  • A man attacked and bitten by a police dog, causing multiple injuries.
  • False arrest triggering the early onset of schizophrenia in a 16 year old youth.

Current cases (include):

R v F – Southwark Crown Court – Murder.

R v H – Central Criminal Court – Attempted murder of a drug rival with a shotgun.

R v C – Croydon Crown Court – Conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm and possession of firearms with intent to endanger life.

R v A – Central Criminal Court – Murder.

Professional Associations

Fraud Lawyers Association

The Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers

Criminal Bar Association

South-Eastern Circuit

Bar European Group

Central Criminal Court Bar Mess

Qualifications and awards

Liverpool Polytechnic LLB (Hons.)

King’s College London, Master of European Laws (LLM)

Middle Temple Benefactor’s Scholar

Blackstone’s Major Entrance Exhibition Award

Middle Temple Major Entrance Exhibition Award

Public Access qualified

Associated work

Lead Facilitator for the training of the Bar in the questioning of vulnerable witnesses (2016 to date)

Member of the Bar Mentoring Committee (2016 to date)

Middle Temple Moot Judge (2010 to date)

Member of the Bar General Management Committee (2007-2012)

Vice Chair of the Bar Public Affairs Committee (2007-2009)

Chair of the Bar Conference (2005)

Former member of the Bar Pupillage Committee

‘Brian is a superb advocate who fights fearlessly for his client. He is a master tactician who is very persuasive in front of a jury as well.’ (Legal 500, 2024)

‘Brian has the exceptional ability to transform hopeless cases into winners, he chips away at the prosecution case in a tenacious and skilful manner, he always ensures the best outcome for his clients. Brian is a brilliant cross-examiner, he prepares meticulously and delivers with aplomb. He has a commanding court room presence and gravitas. Brian’s speeches are captivating and juries love him. An outstanding Silk.’ (Legal 500, 2022)

‘Brian is an outstanding silk, he is fearless in court, very thorough with his preparation he is superb in cross-examination of police officers. An assured silk with composed yet charismatic delivery; he holds the attention of every eye in the courtroom.’ (Legal 500, 2021) 

‘A genuine star.’ (Legal 500, 2019)