Mark is an accomplished and well-regarded senior junior with a heavyweight criminal defence practice, specialising in serious/organised crime. He has extensive advocacy and advisory experience in criminal work and related actions and hearings, and an excellent success rate. He has been briefed to appear in Courts throughout England and Wales, and has considerable experience in the Court of Appeal, the Administrative and Divisional Courts.
Mark has a reputation for combining impressive courtroom skills with an easy manner; for tactical acuity and thorough preparation.
Qualifications
UCL (Philosophy); City University (Dip. Law)
Called to the Bar (Gray's Inn) 1993
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Regulatory Background
Mark began his professional life at the Securities and Investments Board’s Investment Management and Products Division, where he was involved in the authorisation of UCITS and formulating policy for the regulation of collective investment schemes. He then moved the Intermediaries Division where he divided his time between policy projects and speech writing for the Director and Chairman. Latterly, he was involved in dealing with the equity release crisis by setting up and managing the HIP Help Desk.
Criminal Practice
Mark specialises in complex and serious/organised crime, including financial crime, murder, large drugs cases and gang-related offences.
Mark is currently defending David Norris in the Steven Lawrence Murder Trial.
Recent Cases
R v P & Others - For the first defendant in a gangland drug-related kidnap, false imprisonment and blackmail. Acquitted.
R v Williams & Others - Organised Crime. For first defendant in a multi-kilo cocaine importation; large excise fraud; multi-million pound money laundering. Alleged organiser, but acquitted of major counts.
R v Ansah & Others - For first defendant. Fraud, money laundering. Acquitted of all major counts.
R v Rodgers - Defence. Instructed as leading junior in large multi-handed money laundering case deriving from massive car-ringing conspiracy.
R v Curran & Others - Defence. Organised crime. “Headless Corpse” gangland abduction, murder and dismemberment. Acquitted. Led.
R v Leahy & Others - For first defendant. Organised crime. £5m money laundering; industrial cannabis production. Plea to low-level money laundering negotiated, involving, unusually, a negotiated settlement of potentially massive confiscation proceedings. Led
R v Pearson - Defence. Large-scale diversion fraud. Another rare instance of potentially large confiscation case being settled with pleas. Led.
R v Bradshaw - For first defendant. Commercial robberies. Indictment stayed as abuse of process because of delay, lost exhibits and police failure to investigate alibi.
R v Bibby & Others - For first defendant. Cross-bow murder. Juvenile defendant. Acquitted of murder. Led.
R v Bailey - For first defendant. Gangland firearms. Acquitted at half time following successful challenge to evidence of firearm discharge residue on the basis of likely cross-contamination from armed police.
R v Carmen & Others - For first defendant. Multi-handed armed robbery of post office; firearm discharged.
R v Morris - Defence. Attempted murder.
R v Saffery - Defence. Firearms; internet trade in munitions, involving complex, technical explosives and firearms evidence. Tonnes of munitions amassed by ‘militaria’ dealer. Security Service link. Suspended sentence for s5 firearms and explosives.
R v Rooney & Others - Defence. Multi-million pound money laundering; defendant found unfit to plead in contested hearing. Successfully argued she could not be tried for doing the act, as actus reus of POCA offence incorporates mens rea: prosecution offered no evidence.
R v Harmes & Others - For first defendant. Heathrow Supergrass case. Conspiracy to import cocaine; prolonged proactive undercover police operation: abuse of process argued on the basis of agent provocateur. Led.
R v Milton & Others - For first defendant. Money laundering. “Danati” consolidated case. Prosecution stayed. Led.
R v Woodhouse - Defence. Organised Crime. Supergrass. Class A drugs conspiracy: cocaine and MDMA; possession of arsenal of prohibited firearms. Led.
R v Watts & Others - For first defendant. Organised Crime. Multi-million pound series of staged “inside job” security van robberies. Led.
R v Blackwood - Defence. Attempted murder of police officer; series of 20 armed robberies.
R v Jones - Defence. Stranger rape of deaf-mute suffering from cerebral palsy. Consent defence. Not Guilty verdict entered.
