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Chambers is delighted to announce the Rupert Jones has accepted an offer of a tenancy to join Chambers.
Rupert has a background working as a journalist and award-winning radio presenter. Read more
Laura Hobson appointed to sit as part-time tribunal judge
Laura Hobson has been appointed to sit as a fee-paid judge of the first-tier tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber). Read more
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Chambers is delighted to announce the Rupert Jones has accepted an offer of a tenancy to join Chambers.
Rupert has a background working as a journalist and award-winning radio presenter. He also worked as a legal advisor at The Times and The Sun newspapers. He will be practising in the fields of general crime, regulatory, civil and media law. Read more
Laura Hobson appointed to sit as part-time tribunal judge
Laura Hobson has been appointed to sit as a fee-paid judge of the first-tier tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber). She will sit in the Midlands region and adjudicate on matters relating to Employment and Support Allowance. Read more
Nicholas Berry victorious in hoax bank bombing case
Hilmi-Walli Khalid was accused of making a bomb hoax at The Co-operative Bank that led to Walsall town centre being evacuated by police on local elections day in May 2012. Read more
Trevor Meegan Wins battle to keep pub open for drinkers of Sheffield
Trevor Meegan appeared before the Sheffield City Council Licensing Sub-committee to represent the Timbertops public house, Shirecliffe, Sheffield on behalf of SB Leisure Management Ltd. He successfully opposed a review application made by the South Yorkshire Police to close the premises due to alleged problems of crime and disorder (drug dealing and assaults), public nuisance (noise) and threats to public safety. Read more
Jason Aris and Ben Close represent man sentenced for abusing eight victims over three decades
On 1st February 2013 Darren Purchase was convicted of 15 counts and acquitted of six counts by a jury following a 23 day trial at Worcester Crown Court before HH Judge Juckes QC. Read more
Charles Hamer secures acquittal following 4 day trial
Charles Hamer secured the acquittal of an alleged burglar following a 4 day trial at Worcester Crown Court on 19th March 2013. The man's fingerprint was found on an item in a burgled flat. Read more
Appeal success for Graham Russell in solicitor's clerk case
Graham Russell appeared before the Court of Appeal Criminal Division and secured the reduction by one third of a sentence imposed on a former solicitor's clerk who had pleaded guilty to stealing around £205,000 from a solicitor's practice over two years. Read more
Tim Hannam prosecutes VAT fraudster who receives £14m confiscation and 10 years immediate imprisonment in default
On 28th February 2013, after a lengthy contested confiscation hearing prosecuted by Tim Hannam on behalf of the CPS and HMRC before Birmingham Crown Court, Jasbinder (aka ‘Jack’) Singh Bedesha received a confiscation order of £14,019,439. Read more
Trevor Meegan defends plumber involved in £5.2 million cannabis factory
Trevor Meegan represented a plumber who was convicted of conspiracy to produce a class B drug viz. cannabis. The defendant along with three others had set up an extremely sophisticated, industrial size, commercial cannabis factory at a farm near Whipsnade, Bedfordshire. Read more
Gurdeep Garcha successfully defends man charged with Conspiracy to Rob Cash-in-Transit vans
Gurdeep Garcha successfully defended a man who was charged with a series of armed robberies on G4S Cash-in-Transit vans and robberies of a rural bank and a Tesco Express. The offences occurred in and around Warwickshire and involved an armed gang targeting cash deliveries. Read more
Charles Hamer wins dangerous driving trial
Charles Hamer represented a young male who was acquitted of dangerous driving by a jury at Birmingham Crown Court on 20th February 2013. The defendant was one of four young men in a hired Vauxhall Vectra, the vehicle having been hired by Mr Hamer's client. Read more
Laura Hobson successfully prosecutes five benefit fraud conspirators
Jennifer Glover, aged 53, was convicted of conspiracy to defraud by a jury at Leicester Crown Court. Four co-accused had earlier pleaded guilty to their involvement in the conspiracy. The five defendants, along with others, had conspired during 2010 and 2011 to defraud the Department for Work and Pensions. Read more
Trevor Meegan and Nicholas Berry represent Barclay’s Bank £261,500 fraud sisters
Zahirah Bibi represented by Trevor Meegan and her sister, Tahira Khan represented by Nicholas Berry, worked at Barclays Bank, Queens Square, Wolverhampton. Miss Bibi was a personal banker and her sister a counter cashier. Read more
Mark Wall QC and Tim Hannam secure confiscation order of over £2.8 million against rogue car clamper
Birmingham City Council have been successful in their prosecution of Steven Ryan, who ran a rogue car clamping business called CCS, which operated throughout the country. Ryan was convicted after a two week trial in December 2010 before Birmingham Crown Court of offences of conspiracy to defraud and possessing an article adapted for use in fraud. Read more
Nick Tatlow’s prosecution of Carole Riley to form the basis of BBC 1 documentary
On 14 December 2012 the BBC will show a programme called "You've been scammed" which features the case of Carole Riley. Ms Riley was convicted after a trial prosecuted by Nick Tatlow at Wolverhampton Crown Court of three counts of fraud and sentenced to four years' imprisonment. Read more
Rioter 'at forefront' of disorder gets five years' imprisonment
Trevor Meegan represented a man described by the judge as being at the forefront of the widespread, persistent disorder and lawlessness during the Birmingham riots of August 2011. On 9 August 2011, the second day of rioting, a large group smashed windows to the Bull Ring shopping centre. Read more
Teenager high on cannabis on trial for Attempted Murder
Andrew Fisher Q. C. and Gurdeep Garcha represented a teenager with no previous history of aggression or violence of any kind charged with the Attempted Murder of his next door neighbour. The defendant was said to have an obsession with knives and violent video games. Read more
Citadel runners raise more than £3,000 for St. Mary's Hospice at Birmingham half marathon
Adam Western, Dan White, Laura Hobson, Andrew Davidson, Ben Close, Lee Egan and Stefan Gates all completed the Birmingham half marathon on 21 October 2012, and in doing so raised more than £3,000 for St. Read more
Tim Hannam and Philip Kolvin QC represent the Gambling Commission in its first ever prosecution under the Gambling Act 2005 to result in imprisonment
Kevin Holleran was the Director of Nexus Gaming Limited, which supplied “Skillette” gaming machines to pubs and clubs. The game invited players to use their skill to stop a wheel spinning on their chosen number, to win prizes at ratios similar to roulette. Read more
Employment Tribunal Success against Major Retail Chain
Graham Russell successfully represented the claimant in a claim for unfair constructive dismissal brought in the employment tribunal against a well-known national chain of retailers. The Claimant's case was that she had been bullied and harassed by her manager and that her employers had failed to investigate her concerns properly. Read more
Citadel Chambers have entered a team in the Birmingham half marathon
Adam Western, Dan White, Laura Hobson, Balvinder Bhatti, Lee Egan, Andrew Davidson, Ben Close and Stefan Gates will be representing Citadel Chambers and running the Birmingham half marathon on Sunday, 21 October, to raise money for St. Read more
Siobhan Collins successfully defends man charged with s.18 wounding, threats to kill and two offences of assault
Following the breakdown of a relationship, the Defendant was charged with numerous offences of violence against his ex-partner and her new boyfriend. It was alleged that he had strangled her in the presence of their children and threatened to kill her. Read more
Kevin Grego wins HS2 blackmail case
Kevin Grego successfully prosecuted two men charged with blackmailing a landowner to transfer property along the route of the proposed HS2. . Read more
Graham Russell successfully represents HMRC in confiscation of over £225,000
Graham Russell appeared for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs against leading and junior counsel and secured the forfeiture of £226,982 in a four-day contested hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Read more
Daniel White wins Wolverhampton 'IRA' blackmail conspiracy case
It was alleged that the three defendants, all Black Country businessmen who own 75 pubs, several nightclubs, two industrial estates and a brewery, had used Irishmen linked to the IRA to enforce debts owing to their companies. Read more
Gurdeep Garcha secures acquittal for "career armed robber".
The defendant was described by the prosecution as a "career armed robber" and had 17 previous convictions for robbery, including offences of armed robbery of commercial premises such as shops and sub-post offices. Read more
Laura Culley successful in West Midlands Police largest ever forfeiture case
The police applied for forfeiture on the basis that there was evidence that the money was the proceeds of haulage theft. The owner of the house responded arguing that the money was his from legitimate trading. Read more
Charles Hamer successfully appeals sentence in child sex case
The defendant pleaded guilty to a number of offences of historic sex abuse and also some contemporary offences relating to the possession of child pornography. Counts five to seven related to offences of indecent assault between 1965 and 1967 on a girl not expressed to be under the age of 13 in the indictment. Read more
Gurdeep Garcha and Kevin Grego secure acquittals in "Rambo" attack
It was the defence case that the complainant had in fact been carrying the knife, and had been stabbed in the course of a struggle, as both defendants tried to defend themselves from an attack by the complainant and his friend. Read more
Rachel Brand QC and Delroy Henry secure acquittal in triple murder case
Rachel Brand QC and Delroy Henry represented two of eight defendants charged with the murders of three men who were killed when they were struck by a car during the Birmingham riots. Read more
Laura Hobson successfully prosecutes nine defendants for conspiracy to defraud
The defendants had all involved themselves in the fraudulent obtaining of ‘crisis loans’ from the Department for Work and Pensions. They invented stories in order to claim hardship themselves, and were paid ‘commission’ by others whom they had encouraged to make false claims, and in some cases had made claims in entirely false identities in order to obtain payments. Read more
Alan Parker appointed to be a Circuit Judge
The Right Honourable The Lord Judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, has assigned him to the Midland Circuit, based at Warwickshire Justice Centre with effect from Wednesday 13 June 2012. Read more
Daniel White successfully represents three Defendants in the High Court accused by the Environment Agency of being in breach of a Waste Disposal Licence
The Environment Agency issued particulars of claim against Refuse Derived Fuel Ltd. (1st Defendant), Robert McNaughten (2nd Defendant) and Sharon McCann (3rd Defendant). They alleged the Defendants have breached numerous conditions of their Waste Disposal Licence. Read more
Gurdeep Garcha secures acquittal of man on knifepoint rape charge
Gurdeep Garcha successfully defended a man at Birmingham Crown Court accused of dragging a woman off a street and raping her at knifepoint in a flat in Moseley. The man was cleared by a jury following a five day trial. Read more
Delroy Henry represents Stoke-on-Trent loan shark
Giovanni Caruso, a cage-fighter from Stoke-on-Trent was sentenced to four-and-a-half years’ imprisonment for illegal money lending, three counts of blackmail, money laundering and two counts of perverting the course of justice. Read more
Mark Wall QC and Tim Hannam secure acquittal of the ex-sales and marketing director of Jewson, accused of high value conspiracies to defraud his former employer
On 2nd April 2012, Mark Wall QC and Tim Hannam secured the acquittal of their client, Tony Newman, the ex-sales and marketing director of Jewson, the national builders merchant. Mr. Read more
Simon Rippon defends man in human trafficking trial
The trial before HH Judge Webb sitting at Birmingham Crown Court, required interpreters for the complainant and both defendants who faced counts relating to human trafficking. The defendants were partners originally from Romania. Read more
Nicholas Berry successful in High Court claim for Judicial Review
Nicholas Berry successfully argued that a decision of magistrates sitting at Solihull Magistrates’ Court to proceed to conclude a part-heard trial in the absence of the defendant, Miss Danielle Drinkwater, was Wednesbury unreasonable. The CPS, represented by Counsel, contested the application. Read more
Ben Close represents private detective in ‘blagging’ case
Ben Close was a junior in the case in which his client, Daniel Summers, was the first on the indictment in a case of private detectives conspiring to commit fraud by contacting institutions such as banks, and obtaining people’s confidential information. Read more
Gerry Quirke Secures Acquittal in Leamington Rape Trial
Gerry Quirke, instructed by GQS Solicitors, has secured the acquittal of his 22-year-old client charged with rape, after a five-day trial at the Warwick Crown Court based at Leamington Spa. Read more
Trevor Meegan wins insanity trial
The man was accused of a serious offence of wounding with intent after attacking his father with a hammer. After an initial finding of unfitness to plead, the man was eventually found fit to plead. Read more
Gerry Quirke Wins £300,000 in public access High Court Group Action
The action, for fraudulent misrepresentation and deceit, was brought on behalf of a group of investors against two businessmen from Warwick who, it was held, had induced them to enter into an investment scheme in the telecommunications industry by misrepresenting both themselves and their company’s services. Read more
Graham Russell successfully defends man suspected of cigarette smuggling
A judge at the Crown Cout at Maidstone directed the jury to acquit a man accused by the Crown of being a "co-organiser" of the evasion of duty on nearly 5 million cigarettes. Read more
Adam Western successfully defends Sky Sports News presenter
In a case of mistaken identity, the jury acquitted the man who was charged with assaulting somebody with a glass in a pub on New Year's Eve 2010. . Read more
Mark Wall QC appointed Leader of the Midland Circuit
Mark is head of the Citadel criminal team. The members and staff at Citadel would like to extend their warmest congratulations to him on this prestigious appointment. We are confident he will serve the Circuit well, in this demanding and important role. Read more