Machete-wielding robbers jailed for crime spree – BBC News
‘Members of a machete-wielding gang who raided a string of corner shops and terrorised a young family in their home have been jailed.’
BBC News, 30th June 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: conspiracy
Ex-Royal Marines jailed after child accidentally given cocaine as gift – The Guardian
‘Two former Royal Marines have been jailed for smuggling cocaine into the UK in boxes of Lego, after one of them was accidentally given to a child for his birthday.’
The Guardian, 15th June 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
Aram Sheibani: International drugs boss with luxury lifestyle jailed – BBC News
‘A man who was the “very head” of a large-scale international drugs conspiracy with links to Colombia has been jailed.’
BBC News, 10th June 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
The Times, They Are A-Changin’ [Again] – Carmelite Chambers
‘For those practitioners who thought that a positive decision from the Single Competent Authority as to whether a defendant was a victim of trafficking is admissible, having been settled since early 2020 with the Divisional Court decision in DPP v M [2020] EWHC 344 Admin, well…think again.’
Carmelite Chambers, 20th May 2021
Source: www.carmelitechambers.co.uk
Former Met officer who used position to aid criminal gang jailed – The Guardian
‘A former Metropolitan police officer who used his position to help a criminal gang seize money from other offenders has been jailed for eight years.’
The Guardian, 13th May 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
Oldham gang jailed for £160k supermarket thefts – BBC News
‘Six men who stole more than £160,000 worth of items from supermarkets, by setting off alarms to distract security guards, have been jailed.’
BBC News, 14th April 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Shrewsbury 24: how industrial action led to 47-year fight for justice – The Guardian
‘The industrial action that led to the convictions of union activists and a 47-year campaign to clear their names took place as Edward Heath’s Conservative government sought to weaken the economic power of trade unions.’
The Guardian, 23rd March 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
Shrewsbury 24: court of appeal overturns 1970s picketing convictions – The Guardian
‘Court of appeal judges have overturned the criminal convictions of a group of trade unionists, including the actor Ricky Tomlinson, after a campaign lasting more than four decades.’
The Guardian, 23rd March 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
Child abuse inquiry finds no FA conspiracy or paedophile ring – Daily Telegraph
‘The report into whether English football’s child sexual abuse scandal was covered up has found no evidence of an institutional conspiracy or paedophile ring in the game, Telegraph Sport can reveal. As disclosed by Telegraph Sport, the Football Association is planning to release the findings of the independent review into the game’s worst scandal on Wednesday, more than four years after it was launched.’
Daily Telegraph, 15th March 2021
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Briton jailed over plot to pay bribes for Iraq oil contract – The Guardian
‘A British businessman has been jailed for three and a half years after being convicted of conspiring to pay huge backhanders in one of the world’s biggest bribery scandals.’
The Guardian, 1st March 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
“Egregious” failings in expert evidence: a shot across the bows from the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) – 6KBW College Hill
‘The conjoined appeals in R v Byrne and ors. [2021] EWCA Crim 107 related to the safety of convictions arising from separate trials in which the Crown had instructed the same expert, Andrew Ager. Although the convictions were found to be safe, both Ager himself and the prosecution came in for stark criticism, particularly in light of previous high-profile failings in this area in R v Pabon [2018] EWCA Crim 420. The case provides the clearest reminder to all parties in criminal proceedings to ensure compliance with the requirements relating to expert evidence.’
6KBW College Hill, 17th February 2021
Source: blog.6kbw.com
EncroChat: UK drugs boss captured as police crack coded messages – BBC News
‘A drugs boss who ran a multi-million pound enterprise in the UK has been jailed after detectives hacked into his encrypted messaging accounts.’
BBC News, 4th February 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Cell Site Evidence: Expert or Not? – St Philips Barristers
‘In R v Andrew Turner [2020] EWCA Crim 1241 the Court of Appeal considered the issue of when a professional witness crosses the line and gives expert evidence, in the context of mobile telephone analysis. The appeal concerned a conspiracy to supply class A drugs, the prosecution relied on mobile telephone and surveillance evidence. The appellant was said to be a driving force behind the conspiracy and that various incriminating mobile telephone numbers could be attributed to him.’
St Philips Barristers, 5th November 2020
Source: st-philips.com
‘County lines’ drug ringleader jailed for 21 years – BBC News
‘The leader of a sophisticated multi-million pound drug supply network has been sentenced to 21 years in prison.’
BBC News, 9th September 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
What Conspiracy? Warnings and lessons for conspiracy cases – 4 King’s Bench Walk
‘This article considers the recent case of R v Johnson [2020] EWCA Crim 482 and its implications for practitioners drafting conspiracy indictments and advising clients in relation to them.’
4 King's Bench Walk, 17th June 2020
Source: www.4kbw.co.uk
Ricky Tomlinson’s criminal convictions to be re-examined – The Guardian
‘The criminal convictions of actor Ricky Tomlinson, who starred in the TV comedy the Royle Family, are to be re-examined by appeal court judges after an official body suggested he may have been unjustly jailed.’
The Guardian, 26th May 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
Rights & Wrongs? Standard of proof in dishonesty cases considered by the Court of Appeal – Hardwicke Chambers
‘The standard of proof in dishonesty cases: simple to state, difficult to apply. In Bank St Petersburg PJSC v Arkhangelsky [2020] EWCA Civ 408 the difficulty led the Court of Appeal to reverse an experienced High Court judge’s dismissal of a counterclaim. The matter was remitted after a 46 day trial spread over 6 months in 2016, 22 months waiting for a 388 page judgment and nearly 2 years waiting for the Court of Appeal decision on 18 March 2020. Jack Dillon and Amy Held consider the implications.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 10th May 2020
Source: hardwicke.co.uk
Dishonesty: Barton & Booth v The Queen – Pump Court Chambers
‘Barton & Booth-v-The Queen [2020] EWCA Crim 575. The Court of Appeal considers whether the new definition of ‘dishonesty’ given by the Supreme Court in the case of Ivey v Genting Casinos (UK) (trading as Cockfords Club) [2017] UKSC 67 applies in criminal cases.’
Pump Court Chambers, 30th April 2020
Source: www.pumpcourtchambers.com
What is Carbon Credit Fraud? – St Paul’s Chambers
‘Carbon credit VAT fraud has been the subject of an increased investigation by the government and prosecuting authorities, but the bodies generating carbon credits are usually based overseas and authorities in the UK have no control of the quality or validity of the carbon credit schemes.’
St Paul's Chambers, 23rd April 2020
Source: www.stpaulschambers.com
Sports therapist found guilty of Anglesey crossbow murder – The Guardian
‘A sports therapist has been found guilty of murdering a retired lecturer by shooting him with a crossbow at his remote island home in what police described as a “barbaric, medieval-style execution”.’
The Guardian, 24th February 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
