Professional Associations:
- Called to the Bar in 1981
- Member of the Criminal Bar Association
- Member of the South Eastern Circuit
- Member of the British Nigeria Law Forum
- Member of the Equality and Diversity Committee at Bar Council
- Chambers Equality and Diversity Officer
Specialist Areas
Frances undertakes all areas of Crime, with particular interest and expertise in serious frauds, murder, sexual offences, perverting the course of justice, cases with political overtones, drugs cases, money laundering and riot.
Frances has a very good rapport with clients and solicitors. She is strong in all areas of work including legal arguments, cross-examination and holding the jury’s attention and has a very high rate of acquittals. She has been involved in a number of high profile cases many of which have made local and national news including national television news. Frances has appeared as leader in significant two counsel cases. Her legal submission to the Court of Appeal in the case of R –v- Okolie is quoted in Archbold as an authority on Foreign Law. Also quoted on duress of circumstances is the case of R –v- Abdul Hussain in which she was involved.
Frances pays great attention to detail. In the case of R –v- Elliot, she managed to secure an acquittal despite the fact that the young defendant had confessed in three interviews to the Crime. She spotted the fact that in a confused fight involving a number of people, the man hit by the defendant was not the man the subject of the complaint who had been blinded during the fight. The young inexperienced defendant had confessed to the wrong thing and what he had actually done was not criminal in the circumstances.
Examples of High Profile cases
FRAUD CASES
R –v- CROW LOVAT AND RIDDLE
A case prosecuted by the Serious Fraud Office at the highest level and which involved Banking frauds following the voluntary liquidation of the Hungarian International Bank. As a result their national bank had to divest itself of its merchant banking status and went into liquidation. The trial itself was scheduled to last three months but was concluded on agreement being reached after two months, which meant that they did not go to prison. One defendant was acquitted altogether.
R –v- OGUNBOYEJO AND OTHERS
This was an unusual case in which a Bank Manager in Nigeria devised a method for transferring money for his customers by providing fictitious letters of credit confirmed to British Banks for items different from those in which his customers traded, thereby circumventing the exchange control rules of Nigeria. This case lasted four months and Counsel’s specialist knowledge of the foreign exchange rules of Nigeria greatly assisted the case.
R –v- SMITH EDWARDS AND ABURBAKR
This case involved over a hundred million Canadian Pounds allegedly belonging to Canada Airways whilst in voluntary liquidation. These sums were supposed to be paid for supplies by a Malaysian International Company. Attempts were made to cash them at the Bank of China in London with verification from various quarters. The cheques turned out to be forgeries. The issues were then whether the men knew that they were forgeries, whether infact the Malaysian company had made supplies, how Air Canada was dealing with liquidation issues and whether any sums were due and payable from Air Canada or not.
R –v- SELLARS AND DAVIES
R –v- ADALI MORTTY AND OTHERS
The above two cases are examples of VAT Frauds involving carousel trading of mobile phones and computer parts by fraudulent abuse of trade concessions for VAT. In these case these men were alleged to have used bonded warehouses and bogus companies to trade in the same goods over and over again collecting the VAT available on imports and not paying VAT on sale of imported goods due to the country by using missing traders. These cases were scheduled for long trials of up to three months each. It is estimated that missing trader frauds have cost the country up to twelve billion pounds.
Cases of Political Interest
R –v- ADBDUL HUSSEIN NAJI AND OTHERS
In 1996 a hi-jacked Sudan Airways airbus landed at Stansted Airport in Essex. The hi-jackers were seven Iraqi dissidents from the regime of Saddam Hussein. They pleaded duress of circumstances with tales of war, torture, unjust imprisonment and death sentences. The case centred on why they had no choice but to do what they did and involved a full knowledge of the politics of the region. It lasted six weeks and on appeal again made Archbold as the authority on duress of circumstances.
R –v- WOGHIREN AND OTHERS
Home Office prosecution in which they alleged the wholesale contracting of over 126 false marriages in order to enable various parties who paid the organisers to remain in the United Kingdom.
Serious Drug Cases
R –V- WRIGHT ROWLAND COLDWELL AND OTHERS
The most serious drug case in the United Kingdom involving three separate trials one of which lasted a year. This was probably the biggest drugs and business cartel in the UK dealing internationally from South American countries the West Indies and America. These drugs were transported in yachts by yachtsmen and women who are the equivalent of modern day pirates. Murders and intrigues, false identities and cover up activities involved. The activities of the pirates ranged from Australia to South Africa to America, France, the West Indies, South America and various other parts of the world. There were also extradition proceedings for the leader of the gang from Spain.
R –v- WHITE WILLIAMS AND OTHERS
There were twelve defendants in this case which involved the discovery by Police of the biggest cache of crack cocaine found in the United Kingdom. The leader was referred to in the newspapers as “King Coke”. The case also involved the tracing of funds and properties owned by the drug dealers and tracing their routes in various countries, phone calls made by them and other relevant evidence. The case lasted three months.
Cases involving cruelty to children
R –v- CALERO – MURDER OLD BAILEY 2008
An extremely distressing case in which a father and his two children were charged with murder of the children’s maternal Uncle who had repeatedly raped the female defendant from the age of 13 to 22 causing her severe mental problems. The defendant’s father was blind and there were other tragedies in the family. In a bizarre twist the killing of the Uncle was fully recorded by a tape recorder.
R –v- ONUBOGO - BOGUS DOCTOR
The defendant set himself up as a medically qualified doctor and conducted intimate and gynaecological examination of women as well as purporting to treat others by giving injections and appearing in Court as an expert. Despite conviction he received a lenient sentence which became the subject of an Attorney General reference to the Court of Appeal. Successfully withstood the Attorney General application for a higher of sentence.
R –v- BURSUA – ATTEMPTED MURDER
In this case knowledge of the significance of forensic reports on blood and a wound expert helped to acquit the defendant of attempted murder. This is an important and amazing case to win because the defendant had been carrying a very sharp axe and had struck the victim with it but the circumstances of the case and attention to detail including the character and reputation of the defendant and the bullying nature of the complainant meant that the jury accepted that the defendant acted in self-defence.
R –v- DUCKWORTH WARDELL AND OTHERS
A mob attack of youths. Counsel’s knowledge of the significance of blood spatters as shown in the forensic reports, enabled an acquittal for Wardell whilst other youths in the case were convicted of attempted murder.
R –v- CALLENDER
Cases of Attempted Murder reduced after appropriate arguments and representations to assault.
Cases of Riot
R –v- DOYLE MARQUIS AND LASCARIS AND OTHERS
Newham riots similar to the Brixton riots in which black youths who felt they were oppressed became involved in an uprising and wholesale attacks on persons and property.
