• ‘"David is a very effective advocate. He always takes the best points and gives well-rounded advice."
    Chambers UK Crime 2023
  • 'David has an incredibly endearing style in front of a jury' 
    Legal 500 Crime 2022
  • "Immensely experienced and has great judgement. He is also great with his clients, who all love him. A real heavyweight for serious crime." Chambers UK 2023

     
 

David Spens KC

Called to the Bar:1973

Silk:1995

  • Former Treasury Counsel with a great eye for every detail of a case and translating it effortlessly for the jury; he has a formidable reputation as a masterful tactician, for incisive cross-examination, powerful advocacy and securing acquittals against the odds.

    Corporate & Financial Crime 

    David Spens KC has a niche practice, defending senior individuals accused by the SFO of serious bribery: Forrester (Smith & Ouzman; Mauritania, Ghana, Somaliland) Chapman (Securency; Nigeria) and Reynolds (Alstom; Lithuania).

    Other key areas of his white collar defence practice include health and safety, gross negligence manslaughter and fraud.

    Crime

    David secured the acquittal of Clive Goodman, the royal editor in the News of the World phone hacking trial.

    He defends prominent individuals accused of sexual offences, particularly historical ones. He recently secured the acquittal of a philanthropist alleged to have committed offences in Barbados, Grenada and London.

    He is currently advising a high profile individual in respect of allegations in the Caribbean and Paris.

    His clients have ranged from celebrities – Cynthia Payne (Madam Sin), Charlie Gilmour and the rapper Unknown T – to notorious killers – Learco Chindamo, Kenneth Erskine (the Stockwell Strangler) and Robert Black.

    Reviews

    Chambers UK 2023: Crime – Band 1; Financial Crime – Band 2

    'He is also great with his clients, who all love him. A real heavyweight for serious crime.' Chambers UK Crime (2023)

    'He is immensely experienced and has great tactical judgement.' Chambers UK Crime (2022)

    'Very persuasive.' Chambers UK Financial Crime (2022)

    'David has an incredibly endearing style in front of a jury. He is calm but forceful and always unflappably polite. Juries really warm to his meticulous approach and soothing demeanour, which from my experience instills within them a sense of confidence int he case the David puts forward.' Legal 500 Crime (2022)

    'He has a fantastic manner, is brilliant with clients and isn't afraid to roll his sleeves up. He has great tactical judgement and is a pleasure to work with. An Amazing cross-examiner who has real gravitas.' Chambers UK Crime (2021)

    'He is hugely intelligent and knows how to get to the heart of a matter. He is tactically very astute and a good jury advocate with a nice manner. He is a very well-prepared barrister with a good tone in court - judges have a massive amount of respect for him.' Chambers UK Financial Crime (2021)

    He is a leader who can take control in any given situation. He knows how to take best out of his juniors as well as his instructing solicitors. He is very dedicated to his client and works extremely hard.' Legal 500 Crime (2021)

    ‘He has the ability to pick out detail, but is also very good on strategy. He's hugely reassuring for clients.’ Chambers UK Crime (2020)

    ‘He is very, very methodical and extremely good with client care.’ ‘A brilliant tactician.’ Chambers UK Financial Crime (2020)

    ‘A very good performer.’ Legal 500 Business & Regulatory Crime (2020)

    ‘His ability to get to the detail of a case is outstanding.’ Legal 500 Crime (2020)

    ‘Charming and highly respected.’ ‘He's immensely experienced, absolutely brilliant with clients and someone with a great eye for detail.’ Chambers UK Crime (2019)

    ‘An incredibly effective advocate who is invaluable in a complex fraud case; he makes the complex simple.’ Chambers UK Financial Crime (2019)

    ‘A real heavyweight silk with immense experience – his eye for detail is superb.’ Legal 500 Business & Regulatory Crime (2018)

    ‘His eye for detail is superb and he has a really great manner with clients.’ Legal 500 Crime (2018)

    ‘A master tactician.’ ‘He is on an intellectual par with the judges, if not higher. They treat him with such respect. He is a very good speech-maker.’ Chambers UK Financial Crime (2018)

    ‘Very thorough and someone with a great eye for detail, he's also very good with clients.’ ‘His ability to apply forensic skill and judgement to crimes of serious violence is excellent and he has an engaging manner with client, judge and jury.’ ‘He's really the master of his brief – absolutely everything is crossed and dotted.’ Chambers UK Crime (2018)

    ‘The extent to which he has every detail while seeing the wider picture is quite extraordinary.’ Legal 500 Business and Regulatory Crime (2017)

    ‘He is a heavyweight when it comes to serious crime.’ ‘He is charming and clever, and has superb analysis. He’s also second to none as a tactician.’ Chambers UK Crime (2015)

    Appointments

    • 2009 - 2010: Leader, South Eastern Circuit
    • 2004 - 2005: Chairman, Criminal Bar Association
    • 1988-1995: Treasury Counsel, Central Criminal Court
    • 1994: Recorder authorised to sit at Central Criminal Court
    • Appointed to the official List of Counsel of lawyers eligible to practice before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in the Hague

    Professional Memberships

    • Criminal Bar Association
    • Fraud Lawyers Association
    • British Italian Lawyers Association
    • Bencher, Inner Temple

    Education

    • University of Kent at Canterbury (BA) 

            

    Privacy Notice

    Recent Cases

    News

    • Kosovo Specialist Chambers

      David Spens QC and Nicholas Griffin QC have been added to the official List of Counsel of lawyers eligible to practice before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) in the Hague.

      ...

    Articles

  • Corporate and Financial Crime

    A creative and skilful tactician and one of the brightest intellects; a natural in the defence of individuals facing high profile bribery and corruption charges.

    Experience 

    David Spens KC has a reputation built from a vast and varied experience across the full spectrum of financial crime offences, often involving multiple jurisdictions.

    David secured the acquittal of the international sales manager of a UK security printing company, Smith and Ouzman, accused by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) of three counts of bribery in Ghana, Mauritania and Somaliland. This was made particularly remarkable because in the same prosecution the company itself and two of its directors were convicted of bribery in Kenya.

    He represented the Director of Business Development in Africa of an Australian company, Securency, a supplier of polymer substrate used to manufacture polymer banknotes, who was accused by the SFO of paying bribes to Nigerian Security and Minting Plc to obtain contracts worth millions of euros.

    He represented the Global Sales Director of Alstom Power Ltd., Boiler Retrofits Unit who was accused by the SFO of conspiracy to pay bribes to government ministers and officials at the Elektrenai Power Station in Lithuania between 2002 and 2010 to obtain contracts worth 240m euros to refurbish it.

    David recently represented the Managing Director of a group of metal trading companies in an appeal to the Court of Appeal following his conviction to cheat the Revenue after a 6 month trial (he didn't act for the defendant at the trial) concerning a £17.5 million missing trader VAT fraud. 

    David's experience of manslaughter by gross negligence and health and safety includes the defence of a Petty Officer accused of killing a Naval Lieutenant at the Military Driving School. He was acquitted of all charges. He was recently instructed to represent a specialist cardiothoracic registrar at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester, accused of the manslaughter of a patient by administering a toxic overdose of anaesthetic. He had no defence to the charge but David secured him a suspended sentence.

    He recently advised a client in the Barratt Homes bribery and corruption investigation which led to a successful outcome.

    David is considered to be one of the most astute and commanding advocates at the senior bar. He leads his team from the front, listens, is inclusive and a pleasure to work with. 

    Notable Cases

    • R v Anthony Bond (2020)
      Representing the director of the Bond Group accused of a £17 million VAT fraud.
    • R v Nicholas Reynolds (2018)
    • Representing the Global Sales Director of Alstom Power Ltd accused by the SFO of bribery in Lithuania.
       
    • R v Peter Chapman (2016)
      Representing the Director of Business Development in Africa of Securency accused by the SFO of bribery in Nigeria.
       
    • R v Timothy Forrester (2014)
      Secured notable acquittals for an international sales manager accused by the SFO of bribery in three African states.
       
    • R v KD (2012)
      Secured the acquittal of KD accused of involvement in the first prosecution of carbon credit fraud to the value of £35 Million. 

    Reviews

    Chambers UK 2023: Financial Crime – Band 2

    Legal 500 2023: Crime - Tier 3

    'He is also great with his clients, who all love him. A real heavyweight for serious crime.' Chambers UK Crime (2023)

    'Very persuasive.' Chambers UK Financial Crime (2022)

    'He is hugely intelligent and knows how to get to the heart of a matter. He is tactically very astute and a good jury advocate with a nice manner. He is a very well-prepared barrister with a good tone in court - judges have a massive amount of respect for him.' Chambers UK Financial Crime (2021)

    ‘He is very, very methodical and extremely good with client care.’ ‘A brilliant tactician.’ Chambers UK Financial Crime (2020)

    ‘A very good performer.’ Legal 500 Business & Regulatory Crime (2020)

    ‘An incredibly effective advocate' who is 'invaluable in a complex fraud case; he makes the complex simple.’ Chambers UK Financial Crime (2019)

    ‘A real heavyweight silk with immense experience – his eye for detail is superb.’ Legal 500 Business & Regulatory Crime (2018)

    ‘A master tactician.’ Chambers UK (2018)

    ‘He is on an intellectual par with the judges, if not higher. They treat him with such respect. He is a very good speech-maker.’ Chambers UK (2018)

    ‘Praised for his advocacy, he has vast experience of both serious general crime and financial crime. He's a very good tactician who is very good in front of the jury and very well respected by the judiciary.’ Chambers UK (2017)

    ‘His grasp of the evidence and painstaking attention to detail is really impressive.’ Legal 500 (2017)

    ‘The extent to which he has every detail while seeing the wider picture is quite extraordinary.’ Legal 500 Business and Regulatory Crime (2017)

    ‘He is an attractive advocate who is cool, concise, and economical.’ Chambers UK (2016)

    ‘You can see in court that he has the judiciary’s respect.’ Legal 500 (2016)

    ‘Bribery Act matters are a core part of his practice.’ Legal 500 (2016)

    ‘He is charming and clever, and has superb analysis. He is also second to none as a tactician.’ Chambers UK (2015)

    ‘Invariably has the ear of the court.’ Legal 500 (2015)

    Recent Cases

    • David Spens QC and Tom Doble were instructed to represent the Managing Director of a group of metal trading companies in appeal proceedings following his conviction for conspiracy to cheat the Revenue after a 6-month trial (he didn’t act for the def...

    • David Spens QC was instructed to represent the Director of Business Development in Africa of an Australian company Securency, a supplier of polymer substrate used to manufacture polymer banknotes, who was accused by the SFO of paying bribes to Nigerian Se...

    • Alstom is a multi-national conglomerate with its headquarters in Paris. It is engaged in the transport and power markets. This case involved a multi-phase prosecution of the corporate and individuals in relation to bribery allegations occurring in multipl...

    • David successfully defended the international sale manager of a UK security printing company, Smith and Ouzman, accused by the SFO of bribery in Ghana, Mauritania and Somaliland. In the same prosecution, the company and two directors were convicted of bri...

  • A silk with a formidable reputation as a heavyweight in the field of general crime; he is revered for his meticulous preparation, skilful and incisive cross-examination and persuasive advocacy.

    Overview

    In addition to his tactical and forensic skills, David has the ability to gain the trust of his clients at an early stage which in turn inspires confidence in them. 

    He defends prominent individuals accused of sexual offences, particularly historical ones.

    Experience 

    A recognised heavyweight in this field, David’s experience spans the full spectrum of serious crime; he frequently obtains acquittals against the odds. He is a particularly searching cross-examiner.

    David successfully represented Clive Goodman, former News of the World royal editor, in the ‘phone hacking trial' featuring Rebekah Brooks and Andrew Coulson. He was acquitted of the two charges of misconduct in public office. 

    David successfully represented Roger England, a philanthropist who was accused of sexual abuse over a nine year period of an adolescent female, to whom he was the legal guardian, in Barbados, Granada and London.

    Currently he is leading a UK legal team, including another silk, advising an internationally well-known individual accused of historical rape against a minor in both the Caribbean and Paris.

    His experience of manslaughter by gross negligence and health and safety includes the defence of a Petty Officer accused of killing a Naval Lieutenant at the Military Driving School. He was acquitted of all charges. He was recently instructed to represent a specialist cardiothoracic registrar at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester, accused of the manslaughter of a patient by administering a toxic overdose of anaesthetic. He had no defence to the charge but David secured him a suspended sentence.

    David has defended in all types of murder cases; since defending Learco Chindamo for the murder of headmaster Philip Lawrence, David has been the go-to silk for defending high-profile murder cases including Robert Black and more recently the rap artist "Unknown T" (Daniel Lena) who was acquitted at the Central Criminal Court. Many have involved joint enterprise, others cut-throat defences. He has acted in more than 250 murder cases and has special skill in cross-examining pathologists and forensic psychiatrists.

    David is recognised as the master of his brief and as someone who has the respect of the Judges; his cross-examination and speech-making skills are amongst the finest.

    Notable Cases 

    • R v Scott (2023)
      David successfully prosecuted Allan Scott who was accused of murdering his 83 year old landlady and destroying her remains by burning her body on a bonfire in the garden.
       

    • R v Burke (2022)
      David defended Darren Burke, a former Home Office official, accused of spiking his pregnant mistress’ drink with mifepristone in order to procure a miscarriage.
       

    • R v Barnes (2022)
      David successfully defended Loushawn Barnes, 19, who was unanimously found not guilty by a jury at the Central Criminal Court of the murder of Daniel Laskos who was stabbed in the neck. Barnes was in the midst of a group of five attackers, all armed, the others with knives, yet was acquitted of both murder and manslaughter despite himself being armed with a metal pole. The others were convicted of murder.
       

    • R v Daniel Lena (2020)
      Successfully defended the high-profile drill rapper known as 'Unknown T' against a charge of murder.
       
    • R v Mohammed Shakur (2019)
      David Spens KC leading Kerry Broome successfully prosecuted Mohammed Abdul Shakur for murdering his wife, Juli Begum, and their children, Anika and Thanha Khanum, aged five and six, on New Year’s Day in 2007.
    • R v Alexander Palmer (2018)
      Represented a former commando accused of killing an 83-year-old dog walker.
       
    • R v Bryan David (2018)
      Successfully prosecuted the headmaster of a children’s home for historical sex abuse of 13 vulnerable children in his care.
    • R v England (2017)
      Successfully represented Roger England, a philanthropist who was accused of sexual abuse of an adolescent female, to whom he was the legal guardian, in Barbados, Granada and London over a nine-year period. 
       
    • R v Boscolo Gnolo (2016) 
      Represented a young woman who suffocated her two month old child to death. 
       
    • R v Clive Goodman, Rebekah Brooks, Andrew Coulson & Others (2014)
      Successfully defended Clive Goodman, News of the World royal editor, in the phone hacking trial.
       
    • R v AA (2011)
      Defended the first youth to attack the victim in the Victoria Station murder. He was acquitted of murder.
       
    • R v Charlie Gilmour (2011)
      Defended the son of the Pink Floyd guitarist who was at the forefront of the London student protests.
       
    • R v Robert Black (2011)
      Defended a serial abductor and killer of young girls in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

    Reviews

    Chambers UK 2023: Crime - Band 1

    Legal 500 2023: Crime - Tier 3

    'He is also great with his clients, who all love him. A real heavyweight for serious crime.' Chambers UK Crime (2023)

    'He is immensely experienced and has great tactical judgement.' Chambers UK Crime (2022)

    'David has an incredibly endearing style in front of a jury. He is calm but forceful and always unflappably polite. Juries really warm to his meticulous approach and soothing demeanour, which from my experience instills within them a sense of confidence int he case the David puts forward.' Legal 500 Crime (2022)

    'He has a fantastic manner, is brilliant with clients and isn't afraid to roll his sleeves up. He has great tactical judgement and is a pleasure to work with. An amazing cross-examiner who has real gravitas.' Chambers UK Crime (2021)

    'He is a leader who can take control in any given situation. He knows how to take best out of his juniors as well as his instructing solicitors. He is very dedicated to his client and works extremely hard.' Legal 500 Crime (2021)

    'He has the ability to pick out detail, but is also very good on strategy. He's hugely reassuring for clients.’ Chambers UK Crime (2020)

    ‘His ability to get to the detail of a case is outstanding.’ Legal 500 Crime (2020)

    ‘Charming and highly respected.’ ‘He's immensely experienced, absolutely brilliant with clients and someone with a great eye for detail.’ Chambers UK Crime (2019)

    ‘His eye for detail is superb and he has a really great manner with clients.’ Legal 500 Crime (2018)

    ‘Very thorough and someone with a great eye for detail, he's also very good with clients.’ ‘His ability to apply forensic skill and judgement to crimes of serious violence is excellent and he has an engaging manner with client, judge and jury.’ ‘He's really the master of his brief – absolutely everything is crossed and dotted.’ Chambers UK Crime (2018)

    ‘He’s a very good tactician who is very good in front of the jury and very well respected by the judiciary.’ Chambers UK (2017)

    ‘He is a heavyweight when it comes to serious crime.’ Legal 500 (2017)

    ‘He is an attractive advocate who is cool, concise and economical.’ Chambers UK (2016)

    ‘Steely in court with the opposition, and tender and caring towards his clients.’ Legal 500 (2016)

    ‘A highly regarded and sophisticated senior silk.’ Legal 500 (2016)

    ‘He is charming and clever, and has superb analysis. He’s also second to none as a tactician.’ Chambers UK (2015)

    ‘He is a very stylish advocate, whom juries like because of his down-to-earth approach.’ Chambers UK (2015)

    Recent Cases

    News

    • Kosovo Specialist Chambers

      David Spens QC and Nicholas Griffin QC have been added to the official List of Counsel of lawyers eligible to practice before the Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) in the Hague.

    Articles