Peters & Peters act in BA/Virgin trial collapse

Peters and Peters acted for two of the four British Airways who were acquitted on 10 May 2010, following the collapse of the OFT prosecution. This was the first ever case involving the UK cartel offence to come before a jury and the prosecution decided to offer no evidence without any witnesses being called to testify.  The main reason given by the OFT related to the discovery of a large amount of relevant material that had previously been undisclosed.
 
Michael O'Kane, Head of the Criminal Fraud Practice at Peters & Peters, who represented Iain Burns and Alan Burnett, said: "The outcome of this trial is a blow to the OFT and in particular to the way that it delegates investigative responsibility to the immunity applicant in criminal cartel investigations. If this is a resource issue then it should be addressed, as it is clear that effective cartel enforcement can result in huge fines that would dwarf the increase in budget required for the OFT cartel division.”

Iain Burns, paying tribute to his legal team said: "I am hugely indebted to the skill, experience and downright brilliance of both Michael O'Kane and Jasvinder Nakhwal at Peters and Peters who guided me with the utmost professionalism for four long years and then expertly handpicked and instructed an outstanding counsel team of Ben Emmerson QC and Adrian Darbishire. Not only did I feel utterly confident with my team but many Fleet Street commentators told me time and time again that I had the best in the business."