Claire is an experienced criminal barrister. She prosecutes and defends those accused of serious criminal offences including fraud, rape, violent and drugs offences. She also has a niche practice prosecuting and defending health and safety cases.
Prosecution: Claire was appointed to Attorney General's List of Prosecuting Counsel in 2006. She regularly prosecutes for RCPO, DWP,and HSE as well as for the CPS and the CPS UKBA Department.
RCPO: Work done on behalf of RCPO includes prosecuting multi handed alcohol diversion and tax frauds as well as importation of drugs and firearms cases. In 2009 Claire was junior to Philip Henry in a case where the defendants were alleged to have imported millions of units of alcohol into the UK without paying excise duty or VAT. In 2010 she is instructed,again with Philip Henry, to prosecute individuals who tried to defraud HMRC by stealing identities of genuine taxpayers and requesting over £16,000,000 in fraudulent tax repayments.
DWP: Claire's cases for this government department tend to be the larger frauds where claimants have obtained in excess of £100,000 by way of false benefit claims either by living together or by hijacking other idenities. In 2009 she completed a case where the defendants had used alternate African and European idenities to claim an umbrella of benefits to which they were not entitled.
HSE: Work done for the HSE includes prosecting companies and individuals who breach the duties or regulations imposed by the HSWA. In most cases the breach results in death or really serious injury. These include cases where members of the public as well as company employees have been killed because of a defendants poor safety standards. In 2008 Claire prosecuted a London Borough that had breached its duties under HSWA. The breach resulted in untrained and unprotected construction workers unknowingly working with asbestos . The Borough pleaded guilty to breaching its duties under the HSWA.
Defence: Claire has defended clients accused of the the full spectrum of offences.
Sex Offences: In 2009 she defended a youth accused of gang rape. Her defendant was the only one of three acquitted. She deals with cases of historic sexual abuse where the defendant has been in a position of trust and cases of sexual assault.
Violence: Claire has defended s.18, s.20 and s.47 matters as well as those accussed of arson and serious criminal damage. She has experience of dealing with clients with mental health issues has conducted fitness to plead hearings and sentencing hearings where s.37 hospital orders and s.41 restriction orders are being considered.
Health and Safety: Claire defends clients (both corporate and individuals) accused of contravening the HSWA. Health and Safety Law is a specialist area and she has provided pre charge advice to solicitors asked to represent those accused of these offences at interview.
Claire is a Grade 2 prosecutor on the List of External Advocates for the CPS and is on the C Panel of the Attorney General’s List of Prosecuting Counsel. She is a registered pupil supervisor and sits on the South Eastern Circuit's Bar Mess.
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Cases
R v Has and Aslan 2010 sentence at the Central Criminal Court. Claire prosecuted this case where defendants pleaded guilty to breaching duties under HSWA in relation to their work at a construction site in Rainham. The breach led to a construction worker falling to his death from a roof on the site.
R v Byrne 2009 trial. Claire prosecuted this individual accused of breaching a regulation of the HSWA in relation to his work building an extension to a domestic premises. The defendant hired a Polish construction worker who could not speak English. He left him unsupervised on his first day at work. The worker was later found dead upside down in a hole that had been dug when the foundations were laid and left uncovered. It is presumed the man tripped and fell. The defendant was found guilty of the offence.
R v Haji & Others 2009 trial at Croydon Crown Court. Claire represented a youth accused of taking part in the gang rape of a young girl. Her client was acquitted the other defendants were convicted and received lengthy custodial sentences.
R v Simon Mickleburgh (Simon) [2009] EWCA Crim 1083. Claire represented this young man at the Crown Court and subsequently at Court of Appeal who pleaded guilty to arson. The Judge at first instance imposed a compensation order in excess of £50,000. The Court of Appeal quashed the order as the defendant's means were not adequately taken into account.
R v London Borough of Lewisham 2008 case at Blackfriars Crown Court. Claire prosecuted this case where the London Borough were accused of breaching the duty imposed on them under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Poor safety standards had led to subcontractors working with asbestos. The LBL pleaded guilty to the breach.
R v Delgado-Fernandez (Elizabeth) (2007) EWCA Crim 762, (2007) Crim LR 651, Kingston Crown Court before His Honour Judge Fergus Mitchell: Junior defence counsel to Martin Kenny. Client accused of conspiring to traffick persons into UK for sexual exploitation and facilitate a breach of immigration law. Multi handled case involving 3 defendants.
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