Largest and most prolific team of expert criminal law barristers on the Western circuit
Tom Horder and Jodie Mittell's criminal law barristers team at 3PB rightly enjoys a formidable reputation and its barristers are instructed in complex high-profile cases on the Western and other Circuits. Building upon a great tradition that has seen criminal law being practised at 3 Paper Buildings for over 100 years, we have a large and market leading team of silks and juniors, backed by a highly regarded team of specialist criminal clerks.
Legal 500 lists that 3PB’s Criminal team is “the monopoly on the Western Circuit," and possessed "great strength in depth" The criminal team is "An excellent and well-respected set, one of the foremost sets on the Western Circuit" and has "a strong set with barristers of every level and specialism." The independent legal survey ranks both 3PB's Crime team and Business and Regulatory Crime (incl. Health and Safety) in the Top Tier, adding that "3PB 'is one of the forefront chambers in Western Circuit and a has a well-deserved reputation for quality representation for both prosecution and defence." ‘The range and depth of counsel in this set is ideal, allowing an almost bespoke tailoring of counsel and client fit,’ members are frequently instructed in “matters ranging from serious sexual offences to terrorism" and "has members with expertise across a wide range of civil and criminal health and safety cases for local authorities, regulatory bodies, businesses, individuals, and the Health and Safety Executive." "The team represents an array of defendants as well as the CPS and other prosecuting authorities.” Chambers & Partners reports that 3PB is “well respected for its excellent breadth and depth of advocates," as well as its “handling of high-profile cases involving sexual abuse, drugs charges and violent crime.” 3PB Barristers houses "various heavyweight counsel able to do the entire range of cases". The team regularly undertakes work relating to crimes of the utmost gravity, including homicides, terror offences and large-scale drugs conspiracies. Regulatory criminal matters and cases involving both recent and historic sexual offences are also key areas of strength for the set, and members have experience acting for both the prosecution and the defence.
As a specialist criminal barristers chambers we have particular expertise in regulatory criminal offences, receiving instructions from government agencies, local authorities, businesses, insurers and private individuals. Our reputation has also been recently highlighted by the former head of chambers Nigel Lickley KC being appointed as a Circuit Judge at the Central Criminal Court and 3PB being awarded a certificate of congratulations from the Chief Constable of Hampshire.
With offices in London, Birmingham, Bristol, Bournemouth, Oxford and Winchester all equipped with modern conferencing and video link facilities, we are able to provide a comprehensive and professional service to all.
We welcome direct instructions from both businesses and members of the public under the direct access scheme and are able to offer bespoke criminal law barrister services and fee structures to private clients unable or unwilling to access public funding.
Recent cases include:
- R-v-Higgins - high profile historic sexual offences case involving Southampton FC youth coach.
- Cheeki Rafiki - 4 sailors lost on a sailing yacht in the Atlantic. Prosecution for failure to properly maintain the vessel resulting in the worse consequences.
- Operation Endorse - multi handed revenge shooting by London drug dealers against a rival Portsmouth gang.
- R v Kevin Downton - case regarding the murder of businessman Guy Hedger.
- Huntingdon terror plot - Two defendants extradited from the Netherlands, sentenced for their part in a blackmail that stemmed from a campaign involving animal rights extremism, concluded in 2018.
- Metropolitan Police drug operation - resulted in a Hampshire prosecution that conclude with total sentence of 24 and a half years. for the traffickers
- Large scale importation of firearms in the Midlands - Multi handed conspiracy involved dozens of guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
- R v Abukaber - representing the defendant charged with the use of acid during a robbery involving A drugs
- HSE-v-Southern Gas - High profile health and safety prosecution, resulting from a breach of gas resulting in a large explosion. Company fines £1.2m
Stuart Pringle is the Group's Practice Director. His secure email address is [email protected] .
The group's practice management team can be reached at [email protected]. The team's secure email addresses are [email protected] and [email protected]. Additional contact details are listed below.
Our Crime Barristers...
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3PB Barristers' (3 Paper Buildings) specialist criminal defence barrister Nick Robinson has successfully secured an acquittal for his client in relation to a number of serious sexual offences. MH was charged with two offences of Assault by Penetration, and in the alternative two counts of Sexual Assault. Following a four-day trial at Bournemouth Crown Court before HHJ Pawson, the jury returned unanimous not guilty verdicts on all four counts in less than two hours. Nick was...
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3PB criminal defence barrister Nick Robinson (pictured here) represented his client who was charged with multiple offences including rape and sexual assault, all of which were said to have happened over 15 years ago. This was a complex trial due to the number of complaints and the historic nature of the allegations. Nick drafted a detailed defence statement, which resulted in the disclosure of critically important evidence. This included sensitive material relating to an earlier...
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3PB Barristers’ specialist criminal law barristers, Tom Evans and Holly Fagan, have secured acquittals for their clients (C and D), after successful submissions of no case to answer. On a summer’s evening in 2022, four young people were in a car driving around Ryde, Isle of Wight. The front seat passengers (A and B) were in possession of what looked like a semi-automatic machine gun. A and B fired ball-bearings from the gun injuring several members...
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3PB criminal defence barrister Nick Robinson (pictured here) defended MC who the prosecution alleged had non-consensual sex with his heavily pregnant girlfriend, the complainant. During the sex, he allegedly strangled her. The complainant had global learning difficulties. It was the defendant’s case that the sex and strangulation was consensual, and the complainant had been manipulated by her mother into making false allegations against MC. MC was unanimously acquitted of all charges by the jury, following...
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3PB Barristers’ specialist criminal law barrister, Holly Fagan, has secured acquittals for her client, accused of harassing two people causing them to fear violence. Holly’s young client, A, heard that the first Complainant (C1) was spreading rumours about him and confronted her in a night club. This did not achieve anything so he tried to speak to her father (C2), who he knew, in the hope that he could help them resolve the situation. The allegations...
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As part of her degree, Sophie Rogers (pictured here) - a third-year LLB Law student at the University of Winchester - has just finished a six-month placement with 3PB's Crime and Regulatory Crime team in their Winchester office. This is the first such placement run by 3PB (3 Paper Buildings) and may well be one of the very first such initiatives run by a barristers chambers in the UK. Jodie Mittell KC, who co-heads 3PB's...
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3PB's criminal defence barrister Nick Robinson, leading crime and regulatory barrister Anna Leathem, defended “D” who was charged with multiple offences of rape, sexual assaults and coercive and controlling behaviour. The alleged offences were said to have occured over a two and a half year period. D's case was that the allegations were fabricated to gain leverage in divorce proceedings. D contended that the complainant was the controlling, coercive, and physically abusive party. The police...
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3PB (3 Paper Buildings) criminal barrister Berenice Mulvanny, leading fellow 3PB crime and regulatory team member Graham Gilbert, represented the prosecution in the notorious case of Jordan Wilkes, which was heard at Bournemouth Crown Court. Wilkes has now received a sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment, with an extended licence period of 5 years. Wilkes was convicted in a five-day trial in March of attempting to murder a nine-year-old girl with a penknife. He had used...
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Tom Horder, joint head of 3PB’s crime and regulatory crime team, represented VFS (Southampton) Limited, a manufacturer of custom works vehicles in their successful appeal against sentence. At first instance the company was fined £600,000 after entering an early guilty plea to an offence under s.2 of HSWA 1974. The prosecution arose from a 2018 incident on their assembly line. Instructed by Cliff Morris of law firm Paris Smith, Tom (pictured here) argued on appeal...
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3PB Barristers’ (3 Paper Buildings) Berenice Mulvanny, leading Graham Gilbert, successfully prosecuted Jordan Wilkes for the attempted murder of a 9-year-old girl. During the 5-day trial at Bournemouth Crown Court, the jury heard how Wilkes, whose internet search history showed an unhealthy interest in previous attacks on children, attacked the child with a penknife, stabbing her three times. The case has been reported widely in the media, including The Sun and Bournemouth Echo. If you...
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3PB's crime and regulatory specialist counsel Nicholas Cotter advised his client Sam Farrow, who was captain of the 3,500-tonne cargo ship Scot Carrier, who was facing charges in this complex maritime case. Two Danish sailors, Erik Jensen and Per Hartmann Christensen, on a Danish barge died after the Scot Carrier collided with it and their 180-ft Karin Hoj capsized in the Baltic Sea, off the southern coast of Sweden. Sam Farrow was prosecuted because he...
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3PB Barristers’ (3 Paper Buildings) specialist criminal law barrister, Holly Fagan, has successfully secured an acquittal for her client, accused of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. Holly’s client, K, became involved in a fight in the street after a confrontation started between males she was with. It was alleged that K participated in the fight by bottling the Complainant and causing him grievous bodily harm. The Prosecution put their case in multiple ways. They said...
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Recommendations
Chambers UK 2022
Client service:
3PB Barristers houses a strong bench of dedicated criminal barristers, noted for their expert handling of a wide range of high-profile and complex cases. The team regularly undertakes work relating to crimes of the utmost gravity, including homicides, terror offences and large-scale drugs conspiracies. Regulatory criminal matters and cases involving both recent and historic sexual offences are also key areas of strength for the set, and members have experience of acting for both the prosecution and the defence.
"The clerks are very accommodating." Stuart Pringle is based in Winchester and is chambers director.
Legal 500 2022
CRIME (GENERAL AND FRAUD)
3PB 'has huge strength in depth in criminal work on the Western Circuit and can be relied upon to provide first class counsel for any case'.
BUSINESS AND REGULATORY CRIME (INCLUDING HEALTH AND SAFETY)
3PB is 'a strong set for regulatory work' with 'real strength in depth'
‘A Rolls Royce criminal set on the Western Circuit‘.
‘3PB has great strength in depth and is very accommodating in finding the right counsel for the job‘.
‘A well-respected set‘.
‘The chambers has a good range of high calibre barristers‘.
Legal 500 2021 - Tier 1
BUSINESS AND REGULATORY CRIME (INCLUDING HEALTH AND SAFETY) TIER 1
"Members of 3PB are highly active in health and safety cases across the western circuit, with instructions for both the defence and prosecution in a range of cases up to and including multi-fatality matters."
CRIME (GENERAL AND FRAUD) TIER 1
3PB 'is one of the forefront chambers in Western Circuit and a has a well-deserved reputation for quality representation for both prosecution and defence'.
Chambers UK 2021 - Band 1
3PB Barristers houses a strong bench of dedicated criminal barristers, noted for their expert handling of a wide range of high-profile and complex cases. The team regularly undertakes work relating to crimes of the utmost gravity, including homicides, terror offences and large-scale drugs conspiracies. Regulatory criminal matters and cases involving both recent and historic sexual offences are also key areas of strength for the set, and members have experience of acting for both the prosecution and the defence. Significant cases recently handled by the set's tenants include R v Robert Higgins, the high-profile prosecution of an ex-Southampton FC youth coach for a variety of historic sexual offences.
Client service: "The set is very well run and the clerks are all very experienced and approachable. They react quickly to changing events and provide reliable support." "3PB is a very welcoming chambers and all of the staff are polite, professional and committed." Stuart Pringle is based in Winchester and is chambers director.
Legal 500 2020
3PB is praised by clients as a 'go-to set' for both prosecution and defence instructions work across the western circuit, with 'excellent strength in depth'. The set is instructed on all manner of cases, including serious violent, sexual, or drug-related crime, as well as more specialist areas including fraud and court-martials. Timothy Bradbury prosecuted a British Army officer, who was alleged to have raped a United States Air Force captain. Adam Feest QC prosecuted a former Southampton FC youth coach for multiple historical sexual offences against 24 complainants.
Legal 500 2020
"according to some observers in the criminal law space [the set has] ‘the monopoly on the Western Circuit, due to its strength and depth’".
The combined clerks’ room across the set’s six offices is a ‘well-oiled machine’.
Lee Giles 'a master of his art'.
Chambers UK 2020 - Band 1
Well respected for its "excellent breadth and depth of advocates," as well as its handling of high-profile cases involving sexual abuse, drugs charges and violent crime. Barristers at the set remain a popular choice for the CPS and also offer extensive experience of acting for the defence. Recent significant cases include the Huntingdon Terror Plot, involving two defendants extradited from the Netherlands who were sentenced for their involvement in a blackmail that developed from a campaign involving animal rights extremism.
Client service: "The clerking is excellent and they are always ready to go the extra mile." "The clerks are efficient and easy to deal with." Stuart Pringle is based in Winchester and is chambers director.
Legal 500 2018/19
"3PB has great breadth and depth in its criminal team, with members acting in large-scale drug trafficking matters, high profile historic sexual offences, murder cases and violent crime. In a particular highlight, multiple members of the group acted in the high profile R v Kevin Downton case regarding the murder of businessman Guy Hedger."
Chambers UK 2017
3PB Barristers are in Band One and enjoy a sterling reputation on the Western Circuit for high levels of quality and consistency across its broad criminal practice. It has an enviable track record of handling high-profile and demanding criminal cases, including murder, fraud, drug and sex offences. Instructing solicitors single out the set's efficiency and excellent client service as strengths, observing that the practitioners are "extremely reliable with great diversity, and are able to get to grips with cases at a frightening speed."
Chambers UK 2017
3PB’s criminal law practitioners provide ‘top-class advice and advocacy’.
Chambers UK 2016
"Getting almost impossible results time after time."
Legal 500 2016
"A great set of criminal law chambers."
large and very efficient chambersLegal 500