Edward Henry

Call 1988
BA (Hons) Dip Law

Practice: Crime and Regulatory

Summary

Edward Henry has been a criminal defence specialist for 15 years, but in 1998 he prosecuted what was then the largest ever heroin conspiracy trial. This gave him unparallelled experience in the handling of sensitive PII, surveillance methodology, intelligence and mutual assistance. This he then utilised in his exclusively defence practice.

He defends in the most serious cases, with an emphasis on terrorism, drugs and money laundering. His practice also focuses on immigration fraud and people trafficking. He prides himself on offering clients of all backgrounds committed and determined representation that is both professional and personal.

Since 1995, he has defended in some 40 murder trials, from gangland ‘hits’ and ‘whodunits’ to those involving mentally disordered offenders and provocation. His experience, reputation and skill in defending allegations of violent crime continues to flourish.

Examples range from the defence of a Company Director tried on allegations of assault and blackmail, numerous drugs ‘turf war’ murders, to such high-profile cases as the Maskell Twins (who were said to have murdered their Grandmother out of pure greed).

In terrorism trials he has represented a provisional IRA active service unit commander, an accused radical Islamic fundamentalist allegedly being trained to fight in Iraq or Afghanistan, and a Sri Lankan lawyer who (but for a successful severance application by Edward) would have faced the first Tamil Tiger terror-related trial in the UK.

Edward's experience in fraud and white-collar crime includes a number of serious and complex cases. These range from a £200 million alleged ‘Ponzi’ fraud, prosecuted by the SFO, to a multimillion pound high-yield investment fraud.

Edward has considerable experience in money-laundering trials, including a recent defence in a POCA case involving the employment of illegal immigrants. He has also successfully defended an alleged controller of an escort agency, securing her acquittal, in what the Vice Squad had judged to be an overwhelming prosecution case against her.

He has an impressive history in the field of drug crime and defends in serious cases of sexual assault. Edward also defends in firearms cases and the restoration of revoked shot-gun licenses.

Recent Work

In 2009, he has been instructed to defend in three murder cases. Two of which involve undercurrents of drug dealing and the motive of gang warfare and one, at appellate level, that involves an alleged ‘execution’.

He is currently defending in a case of serious sexual allegations against a teacher, in which the allegations date back 40 years. In September 2009 he is defending in a massive vice case, with overtones of people trafficking.

Currently advising the Chief Constable of a major Police Force facing costs of over £1 million for hotly disputed allegations of serious misconduct by his officers.

Career Details

In addition to his criminal defence expertise, Edward Henry has considerable regulatory experience, defending professionals before the GMC and other tribunals, including the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and Nursing and Midwifery Council. He also advises on professional negligence and liability in the context of criminal claims.

Edward considers his defence of a nurse (PC) to be one of the highlights of his career. Unusually for Disciplinary Proceedings, the case was stopped on abuse of process. An anonymised ruling of the Committee can be found in the notable cases section.

He also represented a man (Lord X) who had had his Shotgun license revoked, following the suicide of his son. Despite trenchant opposition from the Metropolitan Police, the license was restored, a decade after it had been lost. The case was dealt with discreetly and the Press were not aware of it at the time.

He also secured the acquittal of a solicitor in a serious money laundering conspiracy. This West Country solicitor was wrongly accused of facilitating criminal transactions for a notorious gang leader.

Perhaps the case for which Edward is best known, at the Bar, was his cross-examination of a forensic lip-reader, which led to her being discredited and resulted in her no longer being instructed by the Crown.

Advisory work and sub-specialisms
Edward advises, pre-arrest, in white-collar crime cases, on such issues as whether to report transactions and the danger of ‘tipping off’. He provides general advice on compliance and money laundering.

He is actively retained by a major insurer to advise on best practice and criminal claims and before that was instructed by the Solicitors' Indemnity Fund.

He is currently participating, as part of a Nuffield Foundation research project (in collaboration with the Law Commission) in examining the impact of psychopathology and cognitive functioning on fitness to plead and stand trial. Edward, together with colleagues, drafted a Courtroom script and reviewed the core competencies a defendant needs in order to enjoy a fair trial. This important research aims to re-invent the obsolete ‘Pritchard criteria’ and bring the law into the 21st century.

Edward specialises in abuse of process, expert evidence (forensic psychiatry, medico-legal and psycho-pharmacology) and confiscation issues. He was a CBA trainer for the Bar when POCA was enacted.

He has a particular interest in forensic acoustics, and in challenging the reliability of emerging expert evidence. It was in this context that he was instrumental in revealing the unreliability of expert evidence in the forensic lip-reading case.

He has considerable appellate practice as ‘second opinion’ and is experienced in conducting judicial reviews.

Broadcasting and Media

Edward has broadcast on issues of criminal law and human rights for the BBC on ‘The Moral Maze’, Five Live, and News 24. He has also been interviewed on ‘Newsnight’ and by ITN. He was retained by Associated Newspapers for pre-publication advice on issues such as contempt of Court and reporting restrictions.

Additional Information

Member of the Bar Council 2008-2011
Member of SE Circuit
Former Committee Member of SE Circuit 2005-2008
Member of CBA
CBA Representative on Bar Council
Member of ARDL
Member of the Financial Services Lawyers Association
Member of Justice
Member of Howard League for Penal Reform
Member of SHELTER
Member of Proceeds of Crime Lawyers' Association
Registered with the Bar Council – Public Access Directory
Member of the Public Access Bar Association - PABA

Education

BA Hons (Cantab) Exhibitioner
Dip Law (City University)