News
Cheerio but be back soon, we dunno somehow we’ll miss ya…
Daren & Simon took Bobby Forrest out for a glass (or two) on 15th June to wish him safe travels as he heads to Australia for a year with his family.
The diary is already filling up for August & September 2023 Bobby – So don’t forget to come back!
Bon voyage.
Two Peas in a Pod
Daren & Simon joined former clerk-turn-client of Chambers Scott Heptinstall for the Captains Golf Day at Romford Golf Club on Friday 10th June in aid of St. Francis Hospice https://www.sfh.org.uk/ only to be confronted by 2 KBW’s former Senior Clerk Roger Plager.
71 years young and as interested in Chambers as ever.
We wish him well …
Finishing last out of over 30 teams, we did ourselves & Chambers proud, in the bar afterwards!
A cracking day.
Please donate to this worthwhile cause (St Francis’ Hospice not the clerk’s beer fund…)
Man who threatened and demanded £100,000 jailed for 6 years – Leigh Hart prosecutes
Kwaku Achampong was charged with blackmail and fraud after sending manipulative and threatening texts, phone calls and letters to two victims. The defendant demanded large sums of money on numerous occasions resulting in him fraudulently gaining a sum of £160,000. Prosecuted by Miss Leigh Hart, the defendant was sentenced on Tuesday at Newport Isle of Wight Crown Court to 6 years imprisonment following earlier guilty pleas. Isle of Wight police investigating team said, “Achampong travelled across the country to pursue these wicked deeds, and he will now pay the price for his involvement in this.”
https://onthewight.com/blackmailer-who-demanded-100000-from-bembridge-man-jailed/
John Lloyd-Richards recent CCA case reported
R v PC [2022] EWCA Crim 542
Instructed for the Appellant, Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, reported as follows:
This appeal against sentence raises the question of whether or not an extended sentence under s. 279 SA 2020 can be passed on an offence that is specified for the purpose of s. 306 in circumstances where the four-year term condition prescribed in s. 280 is met only by taking into account offending on associated offences that are not so specified. It is an issue on which there appears to be conflicting appellate authority. The point is one of real significance. Many cases involve offending arising out of a combination of specified and unspecified offences. Judges need to know what offences can and cannot be taken into account for the purpose of identifying whether or not the appropriate custodial term would be at least four years long.
Held: In so far as Casbolt is to be understood as suggesting that a court, when passing a sentence on a specified offence, cannot take into account by way of aggregation an associated (though unspecified) offence for the purpose of identifying the appropriate custodial term in s. 280, it is wrong. Pinnell/Joyce remains good law. The court when arriving at the appropriate custodial term can aggregate with a specified offence non-specified associated offences so as to reflect the defendant’s overall offending, subject always to the custodial term imposed on the specified offence not exceeding the statutory maximum and not infringing the principle of totality.
London Underground machete attacker convicted of attempted murder – Grace Ong leads Claire Langevad for Prosecution
An Old Bailey jury heard how Ricky Morgan, of no fixed address, launched an unprovoked attack on a stranger on the Jubilee Line train last July. The victim, James Porritt, suffered severe injuries to his hand, head and shin. The defendant denied attempted murder on the grounds of insanity. He was convicted of the offence and also found guilty of two counts of possessing bladed articles. He will be sentenced on 22nd July 2022.
Six members of organised crime group jailed for ATM thefts – Barry McElduff leads Robert Robert Forrest for Prosecution
Between June 2019 and June 2020 the gang targeted cashpoints across the south of England using explosive gases and flammable liquids. They also stole high-value trophies from the National Horse Racing Museum at Newmarket Racecourse, and farm machinery including £400,000 worth of tractors in one night in Cassington, Oxfordshire. The sentences of imprisonment imposed by His Honour Judge Michael Gledhill QC at Oxford Crown Court ranged from 3 years and four months to 17 years and four months.
‘Schizophrenic’ with knife charged at Horse Guards Parade police officers – Suki Dhadda prosecutes
Prashanth Kandhaiah, is accused of confronting two Ministry of Defence police officers in April 2022. He allegedly tried to stab one of the officers, before being tasered and restrained. The defendant, who takes medication for schizophrenia, was remanded in custody and his trial is set for 17th October 2022 at Southwark Crown Court.
James Britton
We are deeply saddened to hear that James Britton has passed away. Jim was a much-loved member of 2KBW for nearly 20 years before his appointment as a District Judge on the Western Circuit in 2016, since when he remained a good friend of many in chambers.
District Judge – Death in Service: Britton | Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
Grace Ong is Panelist at NBCPA 20th anniversary annual conference
Grace Ong attended the conference on 14 May 2022 and was a panelist together with four others on an interactive workshop hosted by Baljit Ubhey OBE, Director of Policy & CPS Race and Ethnicity Champion, talking about her experiences at the Bar and giving advice to Crown Prosecutors about addressing and eradicating racial bias in the criminal justice system.