‘Ed is hard-working, super intelligent, and has an excellent grasp of the law and evidence.’ (Legal 500 2025)

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Having completed pupillage and initially practiced from Chambers in London, Ed worked for a firm of criminal defence solicitors in the West London/Thames Valley areas for 11 years.

During that time he built up substantial experience in defending in complex, serious and high-profile cases in the Crown Court and the Court of Appeal.

Recent cases have included homicide and attempted homicide, terrorist offences (collecting information) and serious organised crime including drugs and kidnapping.

Ed has particular expertise representing clients charged with serious sexual offences against both adults and children, and is experienced in dealing with young and vulnerable witnesses.

Recent appellate work has included appearing for the appellant in the major reported decision in R v Wangige [2020] EWCA Crim 1319, in which a conviction for causing death by dangerous driving was quashed on the basis that the prosecution should have been stayed as an abuse of process. In 2018 Ed was also instructed post-conviction to advise and represent a client on an appeal against conviction on the basis of errors by his previous legal team. The conviction was quashed, and the defendant was acquitted at the subsequent re-trial.

Away from work, Ed is a keen amateur footballer, cricketer and musician, and is a lover of foreign travel.

Appointments

Recorder (South East-Circuit) – 2020.

Significant cases

Homicide

R v WC – Central Criminal Court 2020 – Attempted murder of wife by husband (junior alone)

R v SA – Guildford Crown Court 2019 – Three-handed attempted murder (junior alone, first on the indictment).

R v DC – Isleworth Crown Court 2018 – Four-handed conspiracy to murder, kidnap and falsely imprison (junior alone, first on the indictment).

R v KN – Luton Crown Court 2017 – Four-handed murder, defendant 17 years old (led junior).

R v JS – Reading Crown Court 2017 – Murder (junior alone, plea to diminished responsibility).

R v HM – Central Criminal Court 2016 – Four handed attempted murder by stabbing (junior alone).

R v JP – Reading Crown Court 2015 – Attempted murder by stabbing, defendant 17 years old (junior alone).

R v TB – Reading Crown Court 2015 – Attempted murder by stabbing, defendant 16 year-old schoolgirl (junior alone).

R v SK – Reading Crown Court 2015 – Attempted murder by doorstep shooting (junior alone).

R v WS – Central Criminal Court 2016 – Seven-handed murder, wounding with intent (led junior, 8-week trial).

R v AI – Central Criminal Court 2015 – Murder of wife by husband (led junior).

R v MF – Central Criminal Court 2013 – Two-handed murder and attempted murder (led junior).

Serious Sexual Offences

R v JS – Isleworth Crown Court 2021 – Sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder, where complainant suffered from mixed dementia and the case turned on significant expert evidence concerning mental capacity.

R v TG – Reading Crown Court 2020 – Sexual offences, including rape, within the family.

R v LR – Isleworth Crown Court 2018 – Historic sexual offences against two complainants dating from 1970s.

R v AC – Reading Crown Court 2017 – Alleged sexual abuse (including rape) of three un-related child complainants.

R v ZF – Reading Crown Court 2017 – Large scale familial sex abuse case. Six complainants, four defendants, in excess of 10,000 pages of unused material covering 25 years of family proceedings and social services involvement (led junior, ten-week trial).

R v JH – Reading Crown Court 2017 – Alleged historic campaign of abuse by café owner against schoolboy.

R v JA – Reading Crown Court 2017 – Alleged historic campaign of familial rape.

R v SC – Guildford Crown Court 2016 – Alleged rape of 8-year-old.

R v RH – Isleworth Crown Court 2015 – Alleged historic rape and other offences by step-brother.

R v GW – Reading Crown Court 2015 – Alleged two-handed rape, client 17 years old at the time.

R v DD – Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court 2014 – Alleged campaign of indecent assault and rape over an 8-year period.

R v JS – Reading Crown Court 2014 – Campaign of familial rape. 

R v MT – Reading Crown Court 2013 – Multiple allegations of historic child-rape.

R v KL – Guildford Crown Court 2012 – Alleged offending against two complainants by taxi driver. 

Serious Organised/Complex Crime

R v NB – Kingston Crown Court 2021 – Possession of documents likely to be of assistance to a person preparing or committing an act of terrorism.

R v RD – Croydon Crown Court 2019 – Six-handed kidnap and imprisonment of a 15-year-old boy by a county lines drug gang (six-week trial).

R v SN – Isleworth Crown Court 2017 – Conspiracy to intimidate a witness. 

R v HS – Maidstone Crown Court 2015 – International conspiracy to import class A, B and C drugs and evade cigarette duty.

R v YU – Southwark Crown Court 2015 – Money laundering relating to the proceeds of a complex banking fraud.

R v DF – Lewes Crown Court 2014 – Conspiracy to import cocaine from the U.S.A.

R v OM – Southwark Crown Court 2014 – Multi-million pound mortgage fraud by solicitor (contested confiscation hearing).

R v LF – Winchester Crown Court 2013 – Conspiracy to commit cash in transit robberies by professional gang (six-week trial). 

R v AC – Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court 2012 – Fraud by finance director against company using four mechanisms and accounting techniques.

R v RB – Reading Crown Court 2012 – Importation of commercial quantities of ketamine. 

Appellate Work

R v JW – Court of Appeal 2020 – Major reported decision where conviction for causing death by dangerous driving quashed. The Court held that the prosecution should have been stayed as an abuse of process on the basis of a principle similar to autrefois acquit where appellant already prosecuted for offences arising out of the same incident.

R v JS – Court of Appeal 2019 – 30 months’ imprisonment reduced to 16 months imprisonment (already served) for assisting an offender.

R v JG – Court of Appeal 2018 – Extended sentence of imprisonment on the basis of a finding of  “dangerousness” quashed and replaced with a determinate sentence for rape.

R v LR – Court of Appeal 2018 – Immediate sentence of imprisonment quashed and replaced with a suspended sentence for historical sexual offence.

R v WS – Court of Appeal 2018 – Conviction for manslaughter quashed on the basis of the trial Judge wrongly admitting bad character evidence (led junior).

R v JL – Court of Appeal 2018 – Conviction for assault by penetration quashed on the basis of serious errors by previously instructed counsel at the original trial (junior alone – client acquitted at re-trial).

R v SD – Court of Appeal 2017 – 13 months imprisonment reduced to 9 months imprisonment (already served) for violent disorder arising out football hooliganism.

R v HM – Court of Appeal 2016 – A-G’s reference and cross-appeal against life sentence imposed for attempted murder (junior alone).