Philip Stott

Sought out for his experience and the expertise he has developed; Philip Stott is a wonderful advocate.  His sharp mind and astute judgment make him the ideal candidate for all levels of crime and stages of the criminal process.

Overview

Philip has a very broad criminal practice.  He specialises in defending proceedings brought against professional individuals, particularly in the context of medical and legal professions, and in prosecuting and defending serious and organised crime at the highest level. Philip also prosecutes and defends in allegations of criminal fraud.  He was recently appointed Treasury Counsel Monitoree.

Experience

Philip is an experienced and talented advocate in the criminal courts, trusted by defence solicitors and prosecuting authorities alike in cases with high levels of sensitivity and complexity. This has included, for example, acting as counsel for the prosecution in what are believed to have been at the time the largest ever burglary in English legal history (R v Collins and others – the 2015 Hatton Garden burglary, value at least £14 million) and the largest ever theft from a shop (R v Stankovic – the 2016 Boodles diamond theft, value at least £4 million).  He is frequently instructed on a private basis by well-regarded law firms and their clients.

Philip’s experience includes prosecuting and defending cases involving allegations of: homicide, including allegations of medical negligence or involving expert evidence; acquisitive crime, including crimes of high levels of violence, blackmail or sophisticated dishonesty; sexual offending, including rape and the abuse of children; large scale cases of money laundering and/or fraud; the supply of drugs, particularly over international borders; immigration offending, including misconduct by public officials or lawyers; motoring fatalities, and driving offences.

Philip has experience at all levels of the English legal system, pre-charge through to appeal.  Recent, and significant, appellate work includes: R v Rudling [2016] EWCA Crim 741 – Junior Counsel for Dr Rudling (led by Zoe Johnson QC), representing a doctor in respect of whom the trial judge had acceded to a submission of no case to answer at the end of the prosecution case. The prosecution appealed that decision on an expedited basis to the Court of Appeal. The appeal was successfully resisted by the defence; R v Bala [2016] EWCA Crim 560 – Junior Counsel for the Crown (led by Simon Farrell QC). An appeal against conviction on the question of whether two defendants in a polygamous marriage to each other can conspire together for the purposes of s.2 of the Criminal Law Act 1977. The safety of the conviction was upheld.

Recent and current trial work includes: R v S and H – Junior Counsel for the Crown in a trial of a father accused of murdering his baby son, and associated child cruelty charges faced by both parents; R v Collins, Reader, Wood and others – Junior Counsel for the prosecution in the burglary of Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Ltd on Easter Weekend, 2015 – the largest burglary in English legal history; R v Pooley, Pooley, Quinalha and others – Leading Counsel for the Prosecution in a case of repeated importations of over 100kg + of Class A and B drugs across multiple international borders by logistics firms; R v Bishop, Bishop and others – Junior Counsel for the prosecution in an allegation of multiple kidnaps carried out across London by a large group of defendants; R v A - Sole Counsel for the defence for a client acquitted of committing the night-time rape of a stranger; R v H – Sole Counsel for the prosecution in historic allegations of child abuse on multiple complainants.  Other significant cases are detailed under Notable Cases.

Notable Cases

R v Collins and Others (2016)
Led by Philip Evans QC in the prosecution of the Hatton Garden jewellery heist. The four defendants had a combined age of nearly 300 years were charged with conspiracy to burgle in what has been described as the largest burglary in English legal history.

R v Patel (2014)
Junior counsel for Nikesh Patel, who faced an allegation of conspiracy to defraud Vodafone and other mobile telephone providers, with an estimated value of £2.4 million pounds.

R v P and Others (2014)
Junior Counsel in the defence of the owner of a telecommunications company, acquitted of engaging in a multi-million-pound fraud against network providers, including the use of premium rate numbers and GSM Gateway devices.

R v Dr O (2014)
Acted for the defence in the criminal courts of a consultant anaesthetist charged with the forcible insertion of a naso-gastric tube without consent. The client was acquitted.

R v Zacharias (2012)
Secured the acquittal of qualified solicitor Richard Zacharias, the senior partner at his own firm in Cheshire, accused of entering into an arrangement facilitating the acquisition of criminal property by another.

Operation Eaglewood (2011)
The largest ever CPS prosecution, of an international multi-million pound/euro money-laundering case necessitating multiple trials and Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings.

Reviews

Chambers UK 2019: Crime - Band 4

Legal 500 2018: Crime - Tier 2

'He demonstrates advocacy skills that truly make juries sit up and listen.' Legal 500 Crime (2018)

'He strikes a perfect balance between his obvious academic smarts and his approachable manner.' Legal 500 Crime (2017)

'His application of the law and tactical decision-making are highly effective.' Legal 500 Crime (2016)