Prosecution
Chambers prides itself on providing a first-class and highly professional prosecution service. We work predominantly for the Crown Prosecution Service and its various units that include Homicide, Organised Crime, RASSO and Complex Casework as well as its borough groups. Our team is led by Mark Heywood KC who was the First Senior Treasury Counsel at the Central Criminal Court between 2015 & 2018. Jonathan Polnay (Junior Treasury Counsel between 2017 & 2024) and Louise Oakley were both appointed Senior Treasury Counsel in 2024, Catherine Pattison was appointed Junior Treasury Counsel in 2020 and Ben Holt appointed Junior Treasury Counsel in 2024. Charlotte Hole and Frederick Hookway were both appointed to the Treasury Counsel Monitoree programme in 2024. Chambers also boast a number of highly-experienced Kings’s Counsel as well as leading juniors who undertake Grade 4 work. Many members of Chambers are accredited with and prosecute for the Crown Prosecution Service Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Unit. Their expertise is recognised by the Legal 500 who recently described us as a set with “excellent sexual offence specialists”. We encourage junior members to prosecute at the outset of their careers and they therefore often have prosecution experience beyond their call.
Although much of our work is for the Crown Prosecution Service, we have acted for the Serious Fraud Office and a number of members have undertaken secondments to assist with disclosure work on some of the most high-profile recent fraud cases. In addition, we act for many local authorities and other government agencies. In this respect, our members have acted in a number of prosecutions involving trading standards, regulatory and disciplinary matters, consumer credit, consumer protection, counterfeit goods and food and product safety.
We understand that a successful prosecution involves teamwork and we ensure that members are approachable and hands on. Our policy is to provide written advice, in line with the Farquharson guidelines, within seven days of receiving new instructions. In addition, we ensure that written records of hearings are provided to our instructing solicitors irrespective of whether a representative is at the hearing. We ensure that any enquiries, be they as to disclosure, further advice, case strategy or case building, are dealt with efficiently.
Members of the prosecution team are available to assist in private prosecutions. We also are asked for and provide pre-charge advice and advice on appellate work. For all prosecution-related enquiries, please contact the senior clerk Lee Hughes-Gage.
