Henry Blaxland QC of the Garden Court Chambers Crime Team represented former DJ and music producer, Jonathan King, instructed by Birds Solicitors.
Mr King was first arrested in connection with this investigation in September 2015. The trial for alleged sexual offences was stopped in June 2018 and now almost three years since his arrest, the case against Mr King has been stayed as an abuse of the court’s process. The court agreed with the defence submissions that the systemic failings in prosecution disclosure were so grave that Mr King could not receive a fair trial. Furthermore, the judge accepted that the trial should be stopped because the conduct of the prosecution amounted to an affront to justice.
Birds Solicitors, representing King, said:
“This case is yet another example of failings in the disclosure process. The judgment of the court sets out the detail of those failings which the judge described as a “debacle”.
“It should be of great public concern that the numerous shortcomings in the disclosure process would not have been discovered but for the determination of the defence team.
“We have long expressed concerns about this investigation which we consider lacked sufficient objectivity and was run entirely contrary to the recommendations of the Henriques Report. Those concerns are vindicated by this judgment.
The case has been reported widely including by ITV, Guardian and BBC.
