Mark is an accomplished and highly regarded silk with a heavyweight criminal defence practice, specialising in serious and organised crime, and regularly acting for private clients. He has a reputation for combining impressive courtroom skills with an easy manner; for tactical acuity and thorough preparation.
Mark is registered with the Bar Council for public access work and regularly represents members of the public who want to go to a barrister directly.
Criminal Defence
Overview
Mark is an accomplished and highly regarded silk with a heavyweight criminal defence practice, specialising in serious and organised crime. He has a well-deserved reputation for the quality of his advocacy and his ability to win-over juries in the most difficult of cases.
Notable Cases
Past notable cases can be viewed below. Click here to see a list of recent notable cases.
Murder
R v Younis
Defending the ‘freezer murderer’, a notorious double killing of two young women who were then kept for months in the defendant’s freezer. This case was reported widely: see BBC, Sky & The Sun.
R v B
Defending a 17-year-old accused of murdering a 15-year-old by stabbing him in the chest with a knife during a knife fight. Acquitted of murder on the basis of lack of intent; manslaughter verdict secured. This case was reported by, among others, the BBC and ITV.
R v AK & Others
Defending one of three children accused of murder having ambushed the deceased and stabbed him to death in a pre-planned attack in revenge for the deceased’s having bullied them on a night bus earlier in the night.
R v D & Others
Gangland murder by drug dealers. Acquitted of murder. This case was reported by the BBC.
R v Xavier
Defending at the Old Bailey a man accused of stabbing his young wife to death in the presence of their young baby, inflicting over 50 stab wounds in a frenzied and prolonged attack. The defendant admitted to causing only two injuries and ran lack of intent and loss of control.
R v Jones
Defending a man accused of the brutal murder of his disabled neighbour, where the defendant had a previous conviction for murder. This case was reported by, among others, ITV and the BBC.
R v A & Others
Defending a young gang member accused of taking part in the attempted murder of a 13-year-old boy by shooting him with a slam gun. The victim, who was believed to be part of a rival gang, was shot in the back and paralyzed from the chest down. The case was reported by, among others, the Independent, BBC News, and ITV News.
R v D
Defending a woman accused of attempting to murder her stepfather and stepbrother by encouraging her 15-year-old son to stab them. All defendants and witnesses suffering various levels of mental impairment. Acquitted at half time.
R v M & Others
Defending at the Old Bailey a young man accused of participating in a pre-planned gangland shooting, where two children (aged 15 and 11) were shot in a hail of bullets from semi-automatic firearms.
R v Aurangzaib & Others
Defendant charged with conspiracy to rob on an indictment alleging murder; the victim having been shot dead during to course of a botched robbery. Acquitted following a successful submission of no case to answer. This case was reported by the BBC.
R v Norris
The Stephen Lawrence murder, through which Mark gained a particular interest in hair and fibre analysis. This case was reported globally. See for example reports by the BBC, the Daily Mail and The Washington Post.
R v Curran & Others
"Headless Corpse" case, involving a meticulously planned gangland abduction, murder and dismemberment. Acquitted. This case was reported by the BBC.
R v H
Defendant acquitted of attempted murder, having stabbed the complainant in the heart. Mark detected that he might be suffering from PTSD. Psychiatric evidence confirmed this and the evidence supported a decisive argument that PTSD might have affected his perception of risk, so causing him to use substantial force in self-defence.
Guns
R v Cooney & Others
Defending in Operation Glassy: a six-handed Encrochat prosecution relating to the largest conspiracy to supply firearms and Class A drugs that UK law enforcement has ever encountered. Cross-examined Luke Shrimpton on reliability of Encrochat product. Acquitted of large conspiracy to supply MDMA.
R v M & Another
Defending man accused of robbing a brothel and shooting the brothel keeper in the chest with a sawn-off shotgun. Running self-defence. Acquitted.
R v R & Another
Defending man accused of armed robbery with a sawn-off shotgun which led to a police siege, culminating in the co-defendant shooting at police and being shot and paralysed in the return of fire. Acquitted.
R v Bailey
Defending the principal defendant in a gangland firearms case. Acquitted at half time following successful challenge to evidence of firearm discharge residue on the basis of likely cross-contamination from armed police.
R v Saffery
Defending first defendant accused of extensive internet trade in munitions, involving complex, technical explosives and firearms evidence. Tonnes of munitions amassed by 'militaria' dealer. Security Service link. Suspended sentence for s5 firearms and explosives.
Drugs
R v McCaffery & Others
Defending the principal defendant accused of corrupting a solicitor's clerk in order to gather information on a police investigation into a substantial drugs conspiracy in Manchester and the North East. Acquitted. This case was reported by Manchester Evening News.
R v Schoon & Others
Defending the principal defendant in the Dutch Ambulance drug conspiracy, involving drugs worth in excess of £1.6 billion: one of the largest drug conspiracies in English legal history. This case was reported by The Telegraph, the Guardian and Sky News.
R v Alvarez
Defence of a Columbian with Cali Cartel connections accused of involvement in a conspiracy to import five tonnes of cocaine.
Sexual Offences
R v Bloomfield
Defending a man accused of drugging and raping a young female stranger on a Victoria Line Underground train. Consent defence. Acquitted. The prosecution, but not the acquittal, was reported by the Daily Mail.
R v Mann
Defending a man charged with sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder impeding choice. The defendant fled the country during the prosecution case and was tried in his absence. Acquitted.
R v B
A rape trial at the Old Bailey which collapsed after the complainant admitted during cross-examination that she had fabricated allegations of multiple rape.
R v N
Child sexual exploitation case in Oxford (Operation Kingfisher), involving multiple counts of sexual offences against vulnerable children, including gang rape. Expert cross-examination required of numerous child witnesses including an autistic teen-age complainant. Only defendant acquitted after cut-throat defence with several co-defendants. This case was reported by the BBC and the Daily Mail.
R v J
Successful defence of a man accused of raping a hearing-impaired cerebral palsy sufferer, who could neither speak nor sign. Defendant was a stranger to her, and ran consent.
Cybercrime
R v W
Acting for a defendant accused of hacking Pippa Middleton's iCloud account, and offering stolen pictures of Kate Middleton for sale to the press in the name of the hacking collective the 'Dark Overlords'. Also accused of several international frauds. This case was reported in the UK (Daily Mail) and the US (Bank Info Security).
Mental health
R v M
Defendant accused of multi-kilo heroin importation found unfit to stand trial after contested hearing, then acquitted by a jury in the trial of issue.
R v A & Others
Defendant became unfit to plead on the eve of his multi-handed murder trial. The Court was persuaded neither to sever him nor to determine the issue of unfitness until half time, allowing for a submission of no case to be made. The submission succeeded and the defendant was acquitted.
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Financial Crime and Confiscation
Overview
Mark is an accomplished and highly regarded silk with a heavyweight criminal defence practice, specialising in serious and organised crime. He has a well-deserved reputation for the quality of his advocacy and his ability to win-over juries in the most difficult of cases.
Notable Cases
Past notable cases can be viewed below. Click here to see a list of recent notable cases.
Fraud
R v J & Others
Defending in large-scale 8-handed immigration fraud involving a fake Bollywood film production company. Cut-throat against main defendant alleging that he had put the client under duress. Acquitted; all but one of the other defendants convicted.
R v G & Others
Defending a company director accused of conspiracy to cheat the Revenue in a £34m MTIC fraud, with almost £100m having been laundered through his company account. The client did not give evidence and was acquitted.
R v L & Others
Defending the director of a company said to have perpetrated a multi-million pound VAT and MTIC Fraud.
R v E & Others
Conspiracy to defraud. Eight-handed £80 million mortgage fraud. This case was covered by the BBC.
Terrorist Funding
R v O & Others
Defending in a case investigated by the Counter Terrorism Command Crime Disruption Unit, involving international fraud and money laundering.
R v A & Others
Defending the principal money launderer where funds were obtained through multiple 'vishing' frauds.
R v C
Defending money launderer in "Bank of Terror" case
Financial Services
R (FCA) v Sappal & Others
Defending an allegation of insider trading. This case was reported by Reuters.
R v Sales
Boiler room fraud. An elaborate scheme, investors were persuaded to invest hundreds of thousands of pounds in a non-existent technology company.
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Professional Regulation
Overview
Having had a background in financial regulation, Mark is developing a Health and Safety and regulatory practice.
Notable Cases
Re Abu Mahfuz
Defence. Breach of FA Agents Regulations; authorised football agent accused of 'fronting.' FA Disciplinary Commission. This case was reported by Sky Sports.
R (HSE) v Brooks Crownhill Patternmakers
Defended a metal working company in a prosecution involving multiple cases of hand-arm vibration syndrome, and secured a small fine. More information can be found here.
