After 11 years as a schoolmaster, John re-trained for the Bar and was called in 1990. John is a specialist in Criminal Law who prosecutes and defends in high-profile, serious and substantial cases.
John undertakes all aspects of serious crime but he holds particular experience in cases concerning assault and violent crime, child abduction and sexual exploitation, drug trafficking and drug conspiracies, fraud business & financial crime, murder and manslaughter and sexual offences.
Operation Tricorn (Leading Junior for the Prosecution, large-scale drug conspiracy involving OCG)
Operation Lincoln (Leading Junior for the Prosecution, drug conspiracy involving notorious motorcycle gang)
Operation Thunder (Leading Junior for the Prosecution, large-scale drug conspiracy involving OCG)
Operation Justice (Leading junior for the Prosecution, large-scale drug conspiracy involving OCG)
Operation Empasm (Leading junior for the Prosecution, large-scale drug conspiracy involving OCG)
Operation Juniper (Leading junior for the Prosecution, large-scale drug conspiracy involving OCG)
Operation Yom (junior (alone) for the Prosecution, large-scale drug conspiracy involving OCG)
R v Holcroft (Leading junior for the Prosecution, murder trial involving issues of diminished responsibility
R v Whitley (leading junior for the Prosecution, murder trial)
R v Swift (Leading junior for the Prosecution, murder)
R v Jeffreys (junior (alone) for the Prosecution, murder)
R v Khan (junior for the Prosecution, murder by psychopath released under ‘care in the community’ scheme)
R v Chedwyn Evans (junior for the Prosecution, high-profile rape involving international association footballer)
R v Connah (junior for the Prosecution, causing death of pregnant woman and unborn child by dangerous driving)
R v Rose (junior for the Prosecution, lorry driver causing death by driving following loss of consciousness)
Operation Shepherd (Leading junior for the Defence, 9-month multi-million pound ‘carousel’ fraud trial)
R v Plester (junior (alone) for the Defence, catastrophic injuries in ‘baby-shaking’ case, involving cross-examination of many eminent consultant doctors)
Operation Redbank (junior (alone) for the Defence, importation of 80 kilos of cocaine by OCG)
Operation Pallial (junior (alone) for the Defence, trial involving alleged paedophile ring in North Wales)
R v Zachary Davies (junior (alone) for the Defence, attempted murder involving machete attack in North Wales, allegedly in revenge for terrorist murder of British soldier)
Operation Tarragon (junior alone) for the prosecution of kidnap of a male by a gang disguised as police officers in a ‘fake’ police car
Operation Analogue (Leading junior) for the prosecution of an organised gang of burglars targeting Asian gold
Operation Fasti (leading junior) for the prosecution of highly-organised and sophisticated gang manufacturing steroids on international commercial scale
Operation Lenten (leading junior) for the prosecution of gang allegedly sexually exploiting children in care
Operation Resurrection (leading junior for the defence Fraud)
R v Bickley (leading junior) for prosecution of a defendant charged with murder and three counts of attempted murder
R v Garner (leading junior for the prosecution, murder)
R v Sillence (junior (alone) for the prosecution murder)
Rv Mark Harley Jones (leading junior for the prosecution, murder)
Hereford Cathedral School, University of Liverpool (B.A. (II(i)) M.Phil.)
Scarman Scholar (placed 2nd in Bar Vocational Examinations).
Member of Gray’s Inn
Category 4 prosecutor
Member of the Serious and Complex Cases and Serious Sexual Cases Panels
Recorder (2003)