Henry Blaxland QC

Practice

Henry has specialised in criminal defence work for his entire career at the Bar. He has always concentrated on 'civil liberties' work and represented defendants in major criminal trials arising from the miners' strike of 1984/85, the protest against the Poll Tax in the early 1990s and the riot at Campsfield House immigration detention centre in 1997. His work now covers the entire gamut of criminal defence.

He has developed a specialism in serious fraud and money laundering cases and he has appeared in cases in which professionals, such as accountants and solicitors, have been prosecuted. He spent over a year appearing for the main defendant in a 'carousel fraud' prosecution. He also represented the principal of a therapeutic community for disturbed children in a five-month trial at the Bristol Crown Court.

In recent years he has been instructed in a number of high profile terrorism cases.

A significant part of his practice has involved representing appellants in miscarriage of justice cases referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. He now has an almost unrivalled experience of this type of work and has been centrally involved in the development of this area of the Court of Appeal's jurisprudence.

Henry also specialises in claimant-based actions against the police and has represented journalists facing applications for disclosure of their material under the special procedure rules.

Notable cases

Georgiades 89 Cr App R 206 - mens rea in the offence of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life

Cole 90 Cr App R 478 - the leading case on the interpretation of the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 re the reading of witness statements

Goswell v The Commissioner of Police - appeal against record award of damages against the Police

Walker v The Home Office - judicial review of prison governor's calculation of length of sentence

Colin Wallace - appeal against conviction for manslaughter by former army information officer in Northern Ireland who alleged dirty tricks by MI5

Hickey & Ors - the Carl Bridgewater murder appeal

Derek Bentley (2001) 1 Cr App R 21 - the Craig and Bentley murder case and now the leading authority on the Court of Appeal?s approach to developments in the law since conviction

Danny McNamee - appeal of the man alleged to be an IRA master bomber, said to have made the notorious Hyde Park bomb

Johnson, Rowe and Davis (2001) 1 Cr App R 115 - the appeal of the M25 three and the leading authority on the relationship between the Court of Appeal's jurisdiction to quash convictions and the determination of a breach of Article 6 by the European Court of Human Rights

Craven (2001) 2 Cr App R 12 - CCRC reference of conviction for murder, in which fresh DNA evidence became available following the referral to the court

Pendleton H.L. (2002) 1 WLR - successful appeal against dismissal of appeal by Court of Appeal in CCRC reference. Now the leading case on the approach in cases involving fresh evidence

Hanratty - the A6 murder, one of the most celebrated cases in English criminal law

Whomes and Steele C.A. 2006 - CCRC reference appeal for the defendants convicted of the Rettendon Range Rover murders.

R v Kemi Adeyoola 2006 - much publicised trial at Central Criminal Court acting for 17 year old girl charged with the murder of an 84 year old woman, who had written a 'blue-print for murder' diary'.

Suzanne Holdsworth - successful appeal of woman convicted of the murder of a child she was babysitting.
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R v Al-Daour - so-called 'cyber terrorism' incitement case.

R v Attilla Ahmet - terrorist incitement case.

R v Gulzar - the airline plot terrorist case.