Our client, a former Chief Executive of a local government, was acquitted following a five day trial at Isleworth Crown Court for one count of possession of Class A drugs.

Our client denied ownership of the drugs at the time of his arrest and interview, pleaded not guilty at his first appearance, and maintained his innocence ever since.

In lead up to our client’s trial, we submitted extensive representations to the Crown Prosecution Service pointing out the evidential issues in its case, including how the police had failed to follow reasonable lines of enquiry. These were key enquiries that could have assisted with our client’s defence.

Despite our justified concerns with the Crown’s case, the Crown opted to proceed with the prosecution. This led to significant delays on the first day of trial, as the Crown were forced to ask two key witnesses and one new, previously unconnected, witness to file additional statements in an attempt to rectify the issues in its own case.

This was ultimately unsuccessful as, following the trial, the jury returned a unanimous not guilty verdict after less than twenty minutes of deliberation.

The Peters & Peters team was led by Rachel Cook (Of Counsel) and Abbie Melvin (Associate). 

Sarah Forshaw KC of 5KBW and Gabriele Watts of 2 Hare Court, were instructed as Counsel on behalf of our client.