Practice Summary
Defence and prosecution work at all levels, including homicide, fraud, serious violence, drugs and sexual offences. Particular experience of:
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Large-scale criminal conspiracies involving drugs and/or firearms; and
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Sexual offences, particularly those involving children.
Grade 4 CPS Prosecutor (and on rape specialist panel).
Legal 500 Leading Junior in Crime since 2017 (tier 1 since 2021):
“Anthony is an extremely good advocate. He is always thoroughly prepared and very hardworking.”
“He has a calm manner and keeps a clear head, a combination that means he is sought-after for the most difficult cases.”
Regularly instructed by the CPS Yorkshire and Humberside Complex Casework Unit and other specialist CPS units, including as both leading and led junior.
Notable Cases
Homicide and related offences
- R v Vaskouski (2024): Led junior in prosecution for murder. The victim was pulled (unconscious but alive) from a fire at his home on Terry Street, Hull. In addition to the effects of the fire h had injuries consistent with a sustained and serious assault. He died two days later from his injuries. An extensive trawl of local CCTV showed that the defendant had left the scene just as the fire started. He denied presence in interview but at trial claimed that he had been acting in self-defence. He was convicted after a trial lasting three weeks and received a life sentence with a minimum term of 20 years. (Led by Stephen Wood KC).
- R v JD and RJ (2023): Prosecuting two defendants who arranged to buy a pair of US Marine Corps M67 hand grenades from a supplier found on the “dark web”. The grenades were intercepted in transit in the USA and a decoy package delivered to the address given by the UK National Crime Agency. Both defendants were charged with attempting to acquire control of an explosive substance with intent to endanger life. RJ pleaded guilty and was sentenced to an extended sentence totalling 12 years and 8 months imprisonment, JD was found guilty after trial and sentenced to 13 years imprisonment. (Led by David Brooke KC, however led all the prosecution evidence at trial and delivered the prosecution’s closing speech).
- R v WG and others (2023): Representing the second defendant on indictment charging seven defendants with conspiracy to murder, arson with intent to endanger life, possessing a firearm and other offences relating to a shooting in County Durham in January 2023, arising out of a feud between two criminal gangs. Acceptable pleas entered to lesser alternatives a week after the jury had been sworn in.
- R v OT and GA (2023): Prosecution of two defendants for arson with intent to endanger life after a fire was set in the bedroom of an occupied ground floor flat.
- R v Umar Ali Ditta and others (Operation Filtergate): Led by David Brooke KC in prosecution of 10 defendants for offences arising from a shooting in West Yorkshire in November 2019. The conspirators used a vehicle tracking device to monitor the victim’s car. A complex investigation showed how the defendants had sourced, deployed and then monitored the tracking device to carry out a professionally organised “hit”. Six defendants were ultimately convicted of conspiracy to murder after a six-week trial (all receiving life sentences with minimum terms of up to 20 years), three more pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess a prohibited firearm with intent to endanger life and a tenth defendant received a prison sentence for supplying a mobile phone intended to be used in the shooting.
- R v James and Slater: Prosecution of two defendants convicted after trial of attempted murder, arson with intent to endanger life and perverting the course of justice. The defendants entered the victim’s home at night, cut his throat with a knife, barricaded him inside his own bedroom and then set fire to his flat. Sentenced to 23 years and 19 years imprisonment respectively. Prosecuted trial alone when both defendants were represented by King’s Counsel.
- R v Johnson: prosecution of stepfather following the death of his two year old stepdaughter (led by David Brooke KC). Defendant convicted of murder after trial (life sentence with minimum term of 19 years).
- R v Sheard and Damen: prosecution of the parents of a 4 month old baby girl for manslaughter and child cruelty (led by Nicholas Campbell KC). Seven medical experts in different specialties were instructed by the Crown alone. Both convicted.
Drugs and firearms
- R v Dobb-Clarke and others (2024): Prosecuting 4 defendants for importation of cocaine on a vast scale through the ports in Lincolnshire using their HGV business as cover. When one lorry was intercepted it was found to contain 280 kilograms of high-purity cocaine worth over £8 million pounds at typical wholesale prices. Further investigation by the National Crime Agency showed that the firm had made at least 7 other similar importation journeys, which (on a conservative estimate) must have brought at least 1000kg of cocaine into the UK. The firm also supplied drugs to customers in south Wales. Three defendants convicted (one after trial) receiving sentences of 18 years, 16 years and 10 years respectively.
- R v Chell and Marcia (2024): Prosecution of two defendants who repeatedly conveyed prohibited articles (controlled drugs and mobile phones) into prisons by passing items to prisoners during social visits and by concealing them in items sent to prisoners through the post. The defendants were paid for such items by deposits made into their bank accounts by third parties, many with known connections to prison inmates. The total received by Marcia over the period covered by the indictment was over £119,000, with Chell receiving over £78,000. Both were regular visitors to prisons until they were banned. Rachel Marcia carried out at least 74 visits to prisoners and Chell at least 90.
- R v Callum Zide and others (Operation Actor Kilo) (2023): Leading prosecution of six defendants for supplying multiple kilograms of cocaine and heroin in South Yorkshire. The evidence included both EncroChat material from Operation Venetic as well as evidence from a three-month surveillance operation carried out by South Yorkshire Police. The leader of the operation and five of his associates were prosecuted for conspiracy to supply class A drugs, conspiracy to launder money, possession of criminal property and related offences. The evidence showed that they had purchased a minimum of 46 kilograms of cocaine over three months, and was typically supplying 8 kilograms of heroin a week. Over £240,000 in cash was found during police searches. D1 sentenced to total of 17 years imprisonment. (Leading Katy Rafter).
- R v Sellars (2023): Prosecution of a lorry driver for importing 290 kilograms of high-purity cocaine into the UK via the port of Killingholme (sentence of 16 years imprisonment).
- R v Mayet and others (2022): Prosecution of five defendants for producing “cannabis honey oil”. In the course of production the defendants used butane gas in a confined space, leading to a major explosion which destroyed a residential building in Batley town centre. It was fortunate that no one was killed in the explosion although several of the defendants received serious burns.
- R v Delmar (2022): EncroChat prosecution of multi-kilo suppler of class A drugs. D pleaded guilty after numerous applications to delay the trial due to challenges to the admissibility of the EncroChat material were successfully resisted. Sentence 9 years imprisonment.
- R v Irfan Dad and others (Operation Lastshot): Led the prosecution of eight defendants for conspiracy to supply class A and B drugs. The investigation was a joint operation by West Yorkshire and Cleveland police forces into a major OCG supplying cocaine and other drugs from a base in Leeds. Evidence recovered from mobile phones showed evidence of at least 9.6 kilograms of cocaine being prepared for sale, with a street value of £385,000. Seven defendants were convicted, receiving sentences of up to 12 years imprisonment. (Leading Stephen Littlewood).
- Operation Titanford: six-week trial prosecuting (alone) four defendants for kidnapping and torture arising out of a drugs dispute. As part of the incident the victim had boiling water poured over his genitals. Convicted defendants sentenced to 15 years imprisonment each. Both convicted defendants applied for leave to appeal against their convictions (in the case of D2 grounds prepared by former Senior Treasury Counsel). After considering the respondent’s notices prepared both applications were refused, and in the case of D2 a loss of time warning was given.
- R v Shezan Ali: prosecution of defendant for possession with intent to supply of 7 kilograms of high-purity cocaine with street value of £500,000 (sentenced to 10 and a half years imprisonment)
- Operation Hercules: prosecution (alone) of four defendants for conspiracy to supply firearms and drugs in Sheffield. Among the items linked to the defendants were seven semi-automatic handguns, a sub-machine gun, over 1000 rounds of ammunition, a kilogram of 79% pure cocaine and £38,000 in cash. Main defendant sentenced to a total of 27 years imprisonment (a sentence later upheld by the Court of Appeal Criminal Division after successful response to appeal).
- Operation Midway: prosecution of four defendants for involvement in a business supplying controlled bodybuilding drugs across the UK, with total receipts of over £1 million, and related money laundering offences.
- R v Joe Mitchell and others (Operation Kooz): led junior in the prosecution of 9 defendants calling themselves the “Parson Cross Crew” for dealing in substantial quantities of class A and B drugs, the use and possession of firearms and related money laundering offences.
- Operation Yardley (R v Craig Allen): prosecution of notorious criminal figure who organised drug supplies and importations across the UK from his base in Thailand. Sentence of 20 years imprisonment after a guilty plea. (Led by David Brooke).
- Operations Muzzle and Magnum: led junior in prosecution of a major organised criminal group that supplied drugs of all classes across the UK as well as importing over 200kg of cocaine from Mexico. 18 defendants in total were arrested, 16 convicted, with sentences of up to 27 years imprisonment.
- Operation Manifest: led junior in the prosecution of a major organised crime group involved in the distribution of class A drugs in South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. Conducted numerous hearings including PII applications and part of the trial alone. Trial ended with the conviction of 10 of the 12 defendants and a sentence of 23 years imprisonment for the main defendant.
Sexual offences
- R v Keith Lockwood (2024): Led prosecution of a former music teacher who sexually abused seven boys at two schools from the late 1970s until the mid-1990s. He groomed his victims, who were all in different ways receptive to the extra attention shown to them, by buying them gifts, offering them extra tuition or taking them away on off-roading events. He was convicted after a trial lasting four weeks (at which he was defended by a KC) of 23 counts of indecent assault and received a total sentence of 23 years imprisonment (leading Jess Butterell).
- R v Staveley (2024): Prosecution of 55 year old man for non-recent sexual abuse of two young boys. D was the football coach of the first victim, who he repeatedly abused by masturbating in his presence, encouraging the victim to masturbate and touching his penis. Ten years later D was a teacher. During a school trip he encouraged several boys to expose their penises to him and each other. He was found guilty after trial and jailed for 9 ½ years.
- R v SJ (2022): Defendant convicted of attempting to arrange the sexual abuse of a 9 year old girl as part of an online “decoy” operation by police. When arrested, D was found to be in possession of recordings showing him repeatedly sexually abusing a 13 year old girl who the police were able to trace. Prosecuted both the “contact” and the “decoy” cases. D sentenced to extended sentence with custodial term of 12 years and extended licence period of 6 years (after guilty plea).
- R v SM (2022): Prosecuted defendant found guilty after trial of raping two female students. Both victims had no memory of encountering D but woke up to find themselves in his flat after being subjected to sexual intercourse whilst they were unconscious. Sentenced to 11 years imprisonment.
- R v AM (2022): Successful defence at trial of man accused of raping his former girlfriend.
- R v EP (2022): Prosecution of defendant for the historical sexual abuse of his two nieces when they were aged 6 to 11. Convicted after trial. Sentenced to total of 13 years imprisonment.
- R v CS (2022): Prosecution of defendant for rape of much younger neighbour who he manipulated and “gaslighted” (as the judge found) both before and after the rape. Found guilty after trial in which the defendant was represented by Queen’s Counsel. Sentenced to 13 year custodial term plus 5 year extended licence period
- R v TB (2022): Prosecuted defendant for attempted rape and other sexual offences committed against his former partner’s daughter when she was six years old. Defendant convicted after trial and given extended sentence with a custodial term of 17 years and a five year extended licence period.
- R v EB (2022): prosecution of retired fine arts professor accused of sexually assaulting a young PhD student who had come to his studio to seek advice about her thesis.
- R v Strange: Defending at trial notorious cricket coach convicted on multiple occasions of offences relating to the sexual abuse of young boys.
- R v JB: Defended at trial defendant accused of grooming and having a sexual relationship with a girl aged 12 to 14. Found not guilty on all counts.
- R v KW: Prosecution at trial of defendant accused of historic sexual abuse (D represented by King’s Counsel).
- R v DP: Prosecuted defendant for the repeated rape and sexual assault of his natural daughter (from when she was 13 to 21 years old). Defendant convicted after 6-day trial and sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. Successfully responded to application for leave to appeal against conviction.
- R v PJ: prosecution of secondary school teacher for the sexually-motivated touching of two 16 year old students.
- R v PW: prosecution of historical sexual abuse and child cruelty by W against his three step-children. Convicted on all counts and sentenced to a total of 27 years imprisonment.
- R v AB: Prosecution of taxi driver for two rapes arising out of Operation Stovewood (the National Crime Agency’s investigation into historical child sexual exploitation in Rotherham). Defendant convicted after trial and sentenced to 9 years imprisonment.
- R v Fiek and others: prosecuted three defendants charged with both the sexual abuse of adolescent males and the distribution of images of sexual abuse. As well as evidence from the complainants themselves, the evidence contained a large volume of messages between the defendants, including graphic and extremely disturbing conversations about the sexual and physical abuse of children, and the frequent exchanges of such images. All the defendants eventually pleaded guilty to a total of 33 out of 34 counts and received extended sentences of over 10 years each.
- R v CC: Prosecuted defendant for the repeated rape of his own daughter (sentence of 16 years after trial). Subsequently prosecuted the same defendant for the earlier abuse of his younger cousin, for which he received a further sentence of 7 years.
- R v KL: successfully defended at trial a man accused of the assault by penetration of a disabled complainant.
- R v S: led junior in the prosecution of what was described by the sentencing judge as the worst case of historic child sex abuse by a single defendant he had encountered. The final indictment covered 47 counts and 20 complainants and resulted in a sentence of 20 years imprisonment (after guilty pleas).
Other offences
- R v Jonathan France and others (Operation Yeto): Led prosecution of nine defendants for conspiracy to steal overhead electricity cables (over 57 miles of cable was stolen in 248 incidents between 2013 and 2015) and fraud involving over £500,000 in cash. Eight defendants were ultimately found guilty after trial, all receiving significant prison sentences. (Leading Daniel Penman).
- R v PF: prosecution of D who was both deaf and autistic for downloading indecent images of children. A contested fitness to plead hearing was held which involved three psychiatric experts giving their opinions and being cross-examined.
- R v BC: prosecution of C for gaining unauthorised access to confidential NHS computer files. Successfully responded, on an interlocutory appeal before the Court of Appeal, to a defence argument that the unauthorised access was justified under the ECHR. [R v Coltman [2018] EWCA 2059].
- R v ST: successful defence of prisoner charged with assaulting a prison officer. Case was stopped before the close of the prosecution case after discrepancies were found in the officers’ accounts about the availability of body-worn camera footage of the alleged assault.
- R v Briers: prosecution of chief executive of Age Concern South Tyneside for a series of frauds totalling over £700,000. Defendant convicted after trial (7 years imprisonment).
- R v Jago and others: prosecution of four defendants for conspiracy to steal from motor vehicles, comprising a series of 14 professionally executed thefts from parked delivery vans across the north of England.
- R v Taggart: prosecuted the former Lord Mayor of Leeds and chairman of the West Yorkshire Police Authority, for possessing and distributing over 30,000 indecent images of children (over 5,000 of which were in the highest category).
- R v Onyemaechi: Prosecution of defendant serving a life sentence at HMP Full Sutton who launched a one-man rampage against staff and prison property. He attacked several prison officers, causing an entire wing to be placed in lockdown, and set fire to the prison kitchen, causing several thousand pounds worth of damage. He was eventually restrained by over 100 prison officers who used body armour and pyrotechnics in their attempts to subdue him. Defendant convicted of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered, making threats to kill and several counts of assault ABH. Sentenced to an additional 6 years and 9 months to be added to his previous life sentence.
- R v Rochford and others: prosecution of 7 defendants for violent disorder.
- R v Correira and others: prosecution of 14 East Timorese nationals following two prolonged violent incidents in Scunthorpe town centre.
- R v Makudza et al: prosecution of two defendants for a series of banking diversion and cheque frauds which had resulted in a gain of over £300,000.
- Successfully prosecuting at trial an inheritance fraud involving the removal of over £100,000 from a trust fund.
- The successful defence at trial of a defendant charged with causing grievous bodily harm where the complainant suffered a fractured skull and was unconscious for several days.
- Conducting the first prosecution in the United Kingdom of an offence contrary to section 128 of the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (trespass on a designated site)- a prosecution requiring the personal consent and involvement of the Attorney General.
- The successful defence at trial of a single mother accused of neglect by abandoning her two young children without a carer.
- Operation Dollar: prosecution of 23 defendants involved in “cash for crash” insurance fraud. (Led by Matthew Bean).