William Davis

• R v HU [Central Criminal Court] 2023

  Murder

  William Davis led by Allison Hunter KC prosecuted the alleged ringleader of one of the UK's deadliest gangs and has been convicted of two murders.

  https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/22762653/mali-boys-uk-deadliest-gang-war/

• R v A&MD [Woolwich Crown Court] 2022

  Drug Trading via Encrochat

  William Davis, leading Sam Willis prosecuted a Metropolitan Police officer’s husband who used the EncroChat system to trade large quantities of cocaine and cannabis including drugs packaged with the Hublot luxury watch brand.

  https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/met-police-pc-agalliu-cocaine-cannabis-encrochat-barnet-kensington-b1042254.htmlgalliu and McNeil-Duncan

• R v DC [Central Criminal Court] 2022

  Manslaughter

  William Davis led by Bill Emlyn-Jones KC, prosecuted a man who changed his plea to guilty on the first day of trial and has been given a life sentence with a minimum term of nine years and four months for assaulting his mother, leaving her with fatal injuries.

  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-64628575

• R v SO and Others [Central Criminal Court] 2022

  Revenge Killing

  William Davis, led by Danny Robinson KC prosecuted a teenager who took part in the revenge killing of a 15-year-old schoolboy.  He has been sentenced to 10 years.

  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11503973/Teenager-16-stabbed-15-year-old-schoolboy-death-revenge-killing-locked-10-years.html

• R v Keet and Others [Kingston Crown Court] 2022

  Britain's Biggest Ever Amphetamine Factory

   William Davis leading Dickon Reid prosecuted a man who ran Britain's biggest ever amphetamine factory producing £10m of the drugs a month.  He was sentenced for 18 years.

  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12073391/Gang-boss-ran-Britains-biggest-amphetamine-factory-jailed-18-years.html

• Operation Kandla 2022

  Health & Safety Prosecution under the Medicines Act 1968

  Mark Heywood KC led William Davis in the prosecution of a company that manufactures total parenteral nutrition, which is supplied to vulnerable patients receiving nutrition intravenously. In 2014 a contaminated batch was supplied to hospitals treating severely premature babies. 19 babies developed infections as a result, and one died. After protracted and contentious litigation, the defendant company pleaded guilty to a health and safety offence and to offences under the Medicines Act 1968. The company was sentenced in April 2022.

  BBC News Article.

• R v TP and AP [Inner London Crown Court] 2021

  Prosecution of brothers for historic familial rape

  Charlotte Newell QC and William Davis successfully prosecuted brothers for historic rape and abuse of their 3 sisters.

• R v Gopaul and Bannerman [C.C.C.] 2020

  Homicide

  Anthony Orchard QC led William Davis for the prosecution in a murder trial following an incident outside a nightclub in which a man was stabbed. After the killing the Defendant fled to Cyprus with the assistance of a friend, who was convicted of assisting an offender. The Defendant was extradited to the UK in 2019.

  Press coverage: 
   

• R v Bryan & Ahwan [Kingston] 2020 2020

  Murder

  Anthony Orchard QC led William Davis in the prosecution of two defendants for an incident in Kingston town centre in which a van was deliberately driven at one males, and another was fatally stabbed.

  Press Coverage here.

• R v SA [C.C.C.] 2020 2020

  Murder

  Anthony Orchard QC led William Davis in the prosecution of a defendant in connection with an incident at an all-night party in Aldgate in which one man was fatally stabbed, and three others were injured.

• R v. Biomy & Yusuf [Inner London] 2020

  Gangland Revenge Killing

  William Davis was Junior Prosecution Counsel (led by Brian O’Neill QC) in a gang-related murder, carried out in revenge for the attempted murder of the main Defendant by members of a rival gang.

  News report here.

• R v Jalal Uddin [C.C.C.] 2019

  Murder of wife by stabbing

  Danny Robinson QC led William Davis in this prosecution for murder of a Defendant who stabbed his wife at least 58 times in an attack described by the pathologist as involving “extreme” force.

  News Report Here.

   

• R v Muhammed Hussain [C.C.C.] 2019

  Murder

  William Davis was Junior Prosecution Counsel (led by Louis Mably QC) in prosecution for murder of a Defendant who stabbed his neighbour after a confrontation in the street. 

  News report here.

   

• R v Anwar Hussain & ors [Southwark] 2019

  MTIC Fraud

  Jonathan Polnay led William Davis in this long running MTIC fraud involving five companies and tax losses of around £13M. There were multiple trading chains supported by a wealth of forged documentation, and the proceeds of the fraud were transferred offshore via banks in Eastern Europe and Hong Kong. 

• R v. McLeod & ors [Croydon] 2018

  £700K fraud against the Redundancy Payments Service

  William Davis led in the prosecution of a group of accountants who committed a £700K fraud against the Redundancy Payments Service (RPS), a government agency that makes payments to workers owed money when their employers become insolvent. The Defendants arranged for 105 false applications to be submitted, in some cases supported by false identifies and forged documents. This was the first ever prosecution for fraud against the RPS. In a separate investigation, William Davis again led in the prosecution of Lennox McLeod for a VAT fraud committed during the same period as the RPS case. The defendant took over the VAT affairs of a company after the death of its director and falsely claimed over £100K in VAT refunds.

  HMRC press release here:

   

• R v. Network Rail Infrastructure Ltd [Maidstone] 2018

  Health & Safety Breaches by Network Rail

  William Davis prosecuted Network Rail for breaches of health and safety regulations at East Farleigh Level Crossing following an accident in which a signaller was seriously injured. The trial involved complex expert evidence about the process of risk assessment at level crossings and the mathematical modelling used. The jury heard evidence from signallers working at East Farleigh, their line managers, and from Network Rail’s director of public and passenger safety. Network Rail were convicted at trial and fined £200,000.

  Media reports:

  BBC News

  Kent Online

• Operation Eric [Chelmsford] 2018

  £3.6m Alcohol duty & VAT evasion fraud

  William Davis led Dickon Reid in the prosecution of five defendants charged with a £3.6m alcohol duty and VAT evasion fraud. The ringleaders were importing beer, wine and spirits from Europe using sophisticated mirror loads. Evidentially, the case was complicated and comprised numerous strands including surveillance, phone evidence, CCTV, business records and expert evidence relating to cell site, handwriting and tachographs. The two leading defendants received sentences close to the statutory maximum. Instructed by CPS Special Casework.

  News Report Here

• R v. Wojtkowiak [Maidstone] 2018

  £1m Revenue Fraud Operation

  William Davis acted for the crown in this case that was a revenue fraud prosecution and instructed by the CPS Specialist Fraud Division. The Defendant was a Polish lorry driver caught with four million cigarettes concealed in a lorry carrying parts for a destined for a major car plant in the UK. The total revenue evaded was over £1M. 

• R v. IH & ors [C.C.C.] 2017

  Perverting the Course of Justice / Homicide

  William Davis was defence Counsel for a Defendant charged with perverting the course of justice. The Defendant was accused of enabling the main suspect in a murder enquiry to evade police in the hours following the murder and to avoid arrest for a period of five months by making false witness statements and arranging accommodation for him.

• R v Ruta Sperskaite & ors [Croydon] 2017

  Sham Marriages Prosecution

  William Davis was Instructed as Junior Defence Counsel for one of six Defendants charged with conspiracy to facilitate unlawful immigration by arranging sham marriages. The Defendants were Lithuanian and arranged for women to travel to the UK to marry non-EEA nationals.

  Evening Standard report here.

  Telegraph report here.

  Daily Mail report here.

• R v. Giang Huong Tran [Stafford] 2017

  Prosecutions brought under the Modern Slavery Act 2015

  William Davis was Defence Counsel in one of the first prosecutions brought under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 for subjecting victims to forced or compulsory labour. The Defendants were Vietnamese and owned nail bars in Bath and Burton-upon-Trent. The police found young Vietnamese girls working there who had entered the UK illegally and were alleged to be working without pay in return for food and accommodation. The case is to be the subject of a BBC documentary series in 2018.

  BBC report here.

• R v Mehdi Khashi [Chelmsford] 2016

  Rape, sexual activity with a child, inciting prostitution, and supplying controlled drugs.

  William Davis was Junior Defence Counsel for one of a group of Defendants accused of serious sexual offences against three different complainants, including rape, sexual activity with a child, inciting prostitution, and supplying controlled drugs.

  News report here.

• R v Tahir Mahmood [Leeds] 2016

  25 Defendants alleged to have committed serious sexual offences against young girl.

  William Davis was Defence Counsel for one of 25 Defendants alleged to have committed serious sexual offences against a vulnerable young girl. The investigation resulted in a series of four trials heard in 2016, and formed part of the pilot scheme for pre-recorded cross-examination.

  BBC report here.

• R v Mirza Hussain & ors [Croydon] 2015

  Conspiracy to facilitate a breach of immigration law

  William Davis was Junior Prosecution Counsel. The Defendants were charged with conspiracy to facilitate a breach of immigration law. They conspired to provide forged Dutch passports to non-EU nationals enabling them to make false applications for Home Office residence certificates.

  News report here.

• R v Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust [Maidstone] 2014

  HSE Prosecution of NHS Trust

  William Davis was Prosecution Counsel instructed by the Health and Safety Executive. A patient was injured during routine surgery.  He received severe burns from a warming mattress on the operating table when a saline bag was placed on the temperature sensor, causing the mattress to overheat.  The subsequent investigation revealed serious failures in the procurement process for the equipment, and in the training offered to staff. 

  BBC report here.

• R v Anthony Okoh [Woolwich] 2014

  Multi-handed prosecution for conspiracy to facilitate a breach of immigration law

  William Davis was Junior Prosecution Counsel in a multi-handed prosecution for conspiracy to facilitate a breach of immigration law. The Defendants established and ran a company providing security guards to the construction industry. They employed illegal immigrants to work as security guards and exploited them, requiring them to work excessively long hours for paltry wages.

  News Report here.

• N.M.C v Janice Harry [NMC] 2013

  Fitness to Practice Prosecution

  William Davis was Instructed by the NMC to prosecute the former Director of Nursing at Mid-Staffordshire NHS Trust at a fitness to practise hearing.  The Registrant was found guilty of misconduct for, inter alia, failing to ensure adequate staffing levels and an appropriate skill mix at Stafford Hospital resulting in dangerous conditions for patients

  BBC report here.

Notable Cases