Philippa was called to the Bar in 1999 and has established herself as a successful practitioner of criminal law. Her practice comprises 70% Defence, and 30% Prosecution work. Her defence practice has included work both as a junior alone, and as a led junior; last year she was instructed as junior Counsel in a very complex manslaughter (gross negligence) case, in which she was led by Greg Bull QC, of these Chambers; she was also led in a seven-handed Conspiracy to Murder, along with firearms and drugs charges, at the Central Criminal Court. In January 2009, she was led by Chris Sutton-Mattocks of these Chambers in a case where the defendant faced multiple charges of rape and indecent assault of his daughter and step-daughter over a 30-year period.
In 2004 she was led in a two-handed money laundering matter, which became of interest as a case where the Crown’s evidence was potentially tainted by a host of operations where inappropriate use of Covert Human Intelligence Sources on behalf of HM Customs & Excise, together with insufficient disclosure, had led to the collapse of several multi-handed Customs trials.
In September/October 2003 she was led in a multi-handed conspiracy to supply class A drugs in Oxford Crown Court.
As a junior alone, she is regularly instructed in a wide spectrum of cases, with a main focus on serious robberies, violence, and drugs matters, including large-scale importations. However, she also has considerable experience in a wide range of sexual offences, including rape, and offences against children; as well as credit card and benefit fraud, and complex conspiracies to steal.
Recent Cases
- R v Hosier & Lehaney (money laundering)
- R v Munsha (& others) (conspiracy to supply Class A drugs)
- R v Nedjari (thefts of high value motor vehicles)
- R v Farinha (conspiracy to defraud the DWP)
- R v Duncan & Harte (section 18 GBH and cruelty to a child)
- R v Stern (ca. 1,000 indecent images of children)
- R v Velazquez (money-laundering) – currently the subject of civil proceedings in the Magistrates’ Court, following client’s acquittal.
- R v Maher (manslaughter)
- R v O’Loughlin and others (Conspiracy to Murder)
- R v Lynch and Sylvestre (section 18 – acid throwing attack)
- R v Mitchell (causing a child to watch a sexual act)
- R v Maidment (historic rape and indecent assaults)
Current Cases
- R v Warunge and others (conspiracy to import counterfeit cigarettes)
- R v Khan (cash in transit robbery)
- R v Johnson (mortgage fraud and money laundering)
