Sarah Forshaw KC

Practice Profile

Sarah Forshaw KC, described by an independent FT journalist as the ‘criminal barrister of choice if you can get her’, has maintained an impressive and diverse practice since taking Silk. She is frequently instructed to represent high profile individuals charged under the Sexual Offences Act and her track record marks her out as a leader in this field. 

Her skill and experience in cases involving historic sexual allegations are legendary. They include the successful defence in 2022 of a senior solicitor charged with two counts of rape, of a well-respected senior doctor accused of sexual assault on patients, and of publicist Max Clifford against a second round of allegations from the 1970's. In 2020 she defended a member of the House of Lords who was acquitted of an alleged assault upon a masseuse. In 2019 she was instructed to defend a music producer charged with the historic rape and sexual assault of two young complainants. He was unanimously acquitted of all counts. Sarah is a contributor to "Current Practice in Forensic Medicine" [Vol 3] in particular in relation to Disclosure of evidence in sexual assault cases.

She has built a formidable reputation at the Central Criminal Court, having defended in over 50 Old Bailey murder trials. Notable successes include the defence of one of 19 boys on trial at the Old Bailey for the murder of a 15 year old schoolboy at Victoria station and of a 17 year old boy charged with a double murder in Leytonstone in a drug related gang attack. She is often sought out for young defendants in joint enterprise killings, and was involved in the recent post "Jogee" appeals of Johnson and others. More recently, she represented the first defendant in the Jodie Chesney murder. Her client was unanimously acquitted of both murder and manslaughter.

In cases of Fraud and Financial crime, she is frequently instructed to defend professional clients in the most complex and demanding cases. A firm believer that the best advocates undertake both prosecution and defence work, Miss Forshaw secured convictions for the Serious Fraud Office against all defendants in a long-running £80 million PONZI fraud. Sarah also recently successfully argued for the dismissal of all charges against her client in Operation Lunar, a multi-million Tax fraud using capital loss relief, that had been listed for several months in 2018.

General Crime experience has included the successful prosecution of the "Fake Sheikh", Mazher Mahmood, for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, and successfully defending the only individual acquitted in a multi-handed international conspiracy to import £5m of cocaine from South America. She has been described as ‘silky smooth’ in court and ‘a class advocate…brief, eloquent, with a dash of theatre’.

Alongside her criminal practice, Sarah is often instructed to appear before regulatory bodies, primarily for members of the medical profession. Recent cases before the General Medical Council include the successful reinstatement of a doctor accused and subsequently cleared of raping a nurse, and the trial at GMC (following acquittals in the Crown Court) of another doctor against whom a young patient had made allegations of numerous sexual assaults, all of which were found not proven by the GMC. Sarah Forshaw KC was appointed Queen's Counsel in 2008 and quickly established a formidable practice in Silk. She was appointed co-Head of Chambers in 2009 and from 2012-2014 was Leader of the South Eastern Circuit (the largest of the six geographical Circuits of the Bar of England and Wales). She was nominated for Crime silk of the Year 2014 by Chambers & Partners and is a band 1 silk in the current edition as well as being Tier one in the Legal 500. 

Fees for regulatory and all private criminal work are agreed by the Senior Clerk.

Sarah's Privacy Policy can be downloaded here.

News

• R v. AS [Snaresbrook CC] 2023

  Rape & ABH during the course of alleged sexual assault

  Sarah Forshaw KC represented this Defendant who was charged with rape and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Very unusually, the Court was persuaded that, as a matter of law, there was not enough evidence to go before a jury on the rape allegation and the charge was dismissed (application to dismiss succeeded in advance of trial.) The CPS continued with the assault charge to trial. Substantial evidence was put before the jury during a trial that lasted 2 weeks. The Defendant was unanimously acquitted of ABH in 30 minutes. Instructed by Roger Sahota of Berkeley Square Solicitors.
   

• R v. P [Southwark] 2023

  Rape, Sexual Assault & False Imprisonment

  Sarah Forshaw KC leading Valeria Swift and instructed by Nick Vamos of Peters & Peters, represented this young man from a wealthy and prominent overseas family, who was found not guilty of all charges against him following a two-week trial at Southwark Crown Court in February 2023.
  
  Accusations made by his former girlfriend had resulted in a six-count indictment, including allegations of sexual assault, false imprisonment and rape. He was released under investigation shortly after his arrest, and was granted bail to return to and remain in his home country until the trial. Peters & Peters obtained permission for him to attend all pre-trial hearings remotely. The allegations date back to 2018. Trial was originally scheduled for early 2022, but was adjourned owing to prosecution disclosure failures. The failures continued up to and during trial, with a number of disclosure hearings taking place, and significant items of disclosure provided only on the day the case was opened to the jury.
  
  Following the two-week trial, during which the client gave evidence, the jury returned unanimous not guilty verdicts on all charges after less than three hours’ deliberation.
   

• R v MM [Isleworth Crown Court] 2023

  Rape & Controlling & Coercive Behaviour

  Sarah Forshaw KC leading Phoebe Bragg defended this trainee solicitor accused of rape and controlling and coercive behaviour over the course of an intimate relationship. The prosecution ultimately offered no evidence following a litany of disclosure failures and representations made by the defence. Instructed by Hickman and Rose.

• R v ME [St Albans Crown Court] 2023

  Multiple Rapes & Assault

  Sarah Forshaw KC led Phoebe Bragg in the defence of a man accused of multiple rapes, assaults and harassment by a former partner. The Crown eventually offered no evidence before a jury was sworn. Instructed by James Farrell of Weightmans.

• R v. Dr B [Southwark] 2022

  Dr accused of deliberately infecting partner with HIV

  Sarah Forshaw KC defended this Doctor whom it was accused of deliberately infecting his boyfriend with HIV. They had met on the 'GRINDR' app and had a consensual sexual relationship but it was later alleged that the defendant had failed to disclose his HIV positive status. The Jury was discharged after a 5 day trial and the Crown subsequently offered no evidence.

View All Cases

Notable Cases

• R v H [Southwark] 2020

  Sexual Assault

  Miss Forshaw QC was instructed privately to represent a Member of the House of Lords in his high profile trial for sexual assault before Edis J at Southwark Crown Court. Lord H was found not guilty. Instructed by Blackfords.

  News reports can be found here:

  BBC

  Daily Mail

• R v G [Kingston CC & Court of Appeal] 2019

  [2019] EWCA Crim 2287

  Sarah Forshaw QC was leading counsel for the defence, representing a young man facing five counts of rape. There were three separate complainants. The allegations involved BDSM and one of the complainants was not previously known to the defendant.  The jury found the defendant not guilty on 3 of the 5 counts. 

  Miss Forshaw appealed the two remaining convictions and the Court of Appeal overturned them. The judgment of the Court of Appeal is now a recognised authority, featuring in the Crown Court Compendium and in the leading textbooks on criminal law. Instructed by Hodge Jones & Allen.

  Gabbai v R. [2019] EWCA Crim 2287 (20 December 2019)

• R v. Armstrong [Southwark] 2017

  Alleged Rape in the Palace of Westminster

  Sarah Forshaw QC represented Samuel Armstrong, Chief of Staff to conservative MP Craig Mackinley, whom was accused of raping and sexually assaulting a young woman following a drinking session after work in the bar at the Houses of Parliament. The case attracted considerable media attention. Mr Armstrong was cleared by a jury after an 9 day trial. Instructed by Taylor Haldane Barlex.

  BBC report here.

• R v. Max Clifford [Southwark] 2016

  Defence of celebrity publicist for historic sexual assault

  Sarah Forshaw QC leading Orla Daly were successful in their defence of the renowned celebrity publicist who was cleared of a further charge of historic sexual assault. 

  BBC news report here.

• R v. Mahmood & Smith - “The Fake Sheikh Trial” [C.C.C] 2016

  Trial of the "Fake Sheikh"

  Sarah Forshaw QC leading Danny Robinson were instructed by the CPS in the successful prosecution of the 'Fake Sheikh' and his driver for perverting the course of justice surrounding the 2013 failed prosecution of popstar Tulisa Contostavlos.

  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3819690/Fake-Sheikh-Mazher-Mahmood-guilty-Tulisa-cocaine-sting-trial.html

• Appeal of Johnson & ors 2016

  Post "Jogee" Joint Enterprise Appeal

  Sarah Forshaw QC was involved in the post "Jogee" conviction appeals. A matter that is to be considered by the Supreme Court.

  Judgment can be found here.

   

• R v. Brennan [2015] 1 WLR 2060 2015

  Murder

  Sarah Forshaw QC was instructed in the defence of a gay escort accused of killing 53 year old antiques dealer in a ritualistic satanic attack. The murder conviction was overturned on appeal in 2015 and the sentence reduced. It has become an important decision in cases of diminished responsibility and expert psychiatric evidence.

  The judgment of the Court of Appeal, Criminal Division, is now reported http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/2014/2387.html. The decision is now cited in both the current editions of Archbold and Blackstones.

  BBC news report here.

  
   

• Operation Farnhams [C.C.C.] 2012

  Murder of schoolboy at Victoria Station

  Sarah Forshaw QC leading Sue Rodham, successfully represented their defendant in the trial in respect of the brutal killing of the schoolboy Sofyen Belamouadden at Victoria Railway station by a gang of 19 youths in March 2010. The horrific nature of this killing led to widespread publicity of joint enterprise, knife related gang crime. Instructed by Whitelock and Storr.

  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-15310015