Practice Profile
John is a criminal law specialist whose practice is focussed upon serious and organised crime.
John’s ability to make large volumes of material readily intelligible to a jury means that his practice primarily involves complex and paper-heavy prosecutions. John’s cases typically involve a significant amount of telephone and surveillance evidence or significant amounts of financial documentation.
In recent years John’s practice has seen a bias toward large-scale drug operations, firearms offending, people trafficking/modern slavery and fraud.
John prosecutes for local and regional Trading Standards Services, typically being engaged at an early, often pre-charge, stage of the proceedings to advise on the best strategy from the outset.
A natural advocate, John is forceful and persuasive in front of a jury and has an ability to cut straight to the point of a case.
John is a member of the CPS Rape and Serious Sexual Offences panel.
Testimonials
Work Undertaken
- Serious and Complex Crime
- Consumer Law
Appointments & Memberships
- Criminal Bar Association
- Middle Temple
- Midland Circuit
Notable Cases
Operation Quadruple (2019)
Prosecuting alone. Northampton gang violence. 5 defendants travelled around Northampton armed with a machete looking for members of an opposing gang to attack. Unprovoked attack causing serious knife wounds to an unsuspecting and innocent victim. 1 defendant then joined in an entirely unprovoked slash to the face of a passer-by.
Operation Pledger (2019)
Junior counsel for the Crown: Attempted murder by a prisoner of a fellow prisoner and prison officers in 3 separate prisons. The defendant called 2 psychiatrists who formed the opinion that he was legally insane at the time of the offences. The Crown’s psychiatrist formed the opinion that D was suffering from psychosis at the time of the offences, but was not insane within the meaning of the M’Naghten rules. The insanity defence was rejected and D was convicted of 3 attempted murders.
Operation Trent (2019)
Junior counsel for the Crown. Multi-kilo class A conspiracies. Trial 1 of 3 anticipated trials combining a total of 25 defendants.
Operation Radar (2019)
Junior counsel for the Crown. Multi-kilo class A conspiracies between Sheffield, Lincolnshire and Essex. Trial 1 of 3 anticipated trials combining a total of 28 defendants
Operation Fahrenheit (2019)
Prosecuting alone. Large-scale, 5-handed conspiracy to attack cash machines with cutting equipment stolen from fire stations. 28 cash points targeted, ranging from the West Midlands to the West Country.
Operation Ambion (2019)
Prosecuting alone. Multi-kilo conspiracy to supply heroin and crack cocaine.
Operation Coyote (2018/19)
Prosecuting alone. Multi-kilo conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine.
Operation Doubrava (2018)
Leading junior for the Crown. 11-handed people trafficking/modern slavery prosecution. Listed for 3 months. Derbyshire’s largest ever people trafficking investigation. The case involved a Joint Investigation Team with the Latvian police, established though Eurojust, and a significant number of vulnerable Latvian witnesses who gave evidence by video link from a Latvian court, or having been flown into the UK.
Guilty pleas after 7 weeks of evidence.
Operation Greyhound (2018)
Leading junior for the Crown. 3 week trial. Discharge of a firearm during a car chase in a residential street in Birmingham, together with transfer of a firearm and class A drug offending. Click Here
Operation Saracen (2018)
Junior counsel for the Crown. Large class A and B ‘county lines’ conspiracies.
Operation Moonshine (2018)
Prosecuting alone. Dark web/credit card conspiracy. Dark web bitcoin transactions used to obtain details of US and Canadian credit cards, which were then used to make purchases in the UK. Click Here
Operation Intruder (2017/2018)
1 trial as junior counsel for the Crown, 1 trial prosecuting alone. A series of large-scale class A conspiracies.
Operation Beagle (2017)
Junior counsel for the Crown – 6 week trial. Large class A drugs conspiracy. Click Here
Operation Nacreous (2017)
Prosecuting alone. 3 week trial. Modern slavery and benefit fraud. Click Here
Operation Action (2017)
Prosecuting alone. 4 week trial. 350 fraudulent claims for almost £100,000 worth of ‘Delay Repay’ compensation from railway companies. Click Here
Operation Static and Operation Limit (2016/2017)
2 trials as junior counsel for the Crown, 1 trial prosecuting alone. Transfer of handguns and a skorpion machine pistol into Leicester, along with class A drug offending. Click Here & Click Here
Operation Stingray (2016)
Prosecuting alone – conspiracy to steal. Gang of 10 youths stole 42 bicycles from London railway stations over the course of a year.
Operation Eased (2016)
1 trial as junior counsel for the Crown, 1 trial prosecuting alone. Supply of class A and B drugs and possession of a handgun. Click Here
Dunmore (2016)
Prosecuting alone. Importation of class A and B drugs with a street value in excess of £14 million. Click Here
Operation Starving (2015)
Junior counsel for the Crown in a multi-faceted fraud investigated and brought to court by the NCA/OCD. Purchasing of credit card details online, fraudulent use of merchant facilities, interception of emails and diversion of bank transfer mandates. Click Here
Operation Brimstone (2014)
Prosecuting alone for Leicestershire Trading Standards Service. 6 week trial. £800,000 rogue trader fraud. Click Here