Max Hill has been instructed for the prosecution in many of the most significant and high-profile terrorism trials in the past five years. Previously, he spent fifteen years pursuing a mixed prosecution and defence practice, but then became known for his work in cases of murder and terrorism.
His cases at the Central Criminal Court include the successful second prosecution for the killing of Damilola Taylor, R v Preddie and Preddie, in which he was first junior prosecution counsel. After the first case in 2002 (when the trial of four defendants collapsed after the main prosecution witness – known as ‘Bromley’ – was discredited), he was instructed to prosecute two of the original suspects for the killing, who had not previously been charged. This culminated in the conviction of the Preddie brothers for manslaughter, upon evidence which included a bloodstain upon one of the defendant’s shoes, which had been missed when the shoes were seized and examined by the Forensic Science Service during the first investigation.
In addition to many other murder cases at the Central Criminal Court, he was instructed (as junior prosecution counsel) in the last IRA prosecution in this country to date, R v Hulme and others. The Real IRA mainland campaign of 2001 included bomb detonations at the BBC premises in White City, together with a very large bomb at Ealing Broadway and a third detonation at Birmingham Smallbrook. The trial took place over several months in 2003, and culminated in the conviction of all five members of the terrorist cell.
Thereafter, he has been continuously instructed for the prosecution, first as junior counsel then, as leading junior and now as QC, in a series of Al Qaeda terrorist trials from 2004 to date. These include the so-called ‘Ricin Conspiracy’ trial R v Bourgass and others, concerning the discovery of poison recipes and ingredients in north London, terrorism trials involving Syria (R v Tabbakh, Birmingham Crown Court 2008), Baluchistan (R v Baluch and Marri, Woolwich Crown Court 2008-9), Somalia (R v Mohamed and Yusuf, Kingston Crown Court 2009) as well as all three trials resulting from the ‘21/7’ plot by suicide bombers to detonate bombs on London transport two weeks after the carnage of ‘7/7’. These trials lasted a total of 16 months during 2007-8, and resulted in the conviction of sixteen defendants. He was appointed QC in the middle of the third trial. His second junior in the second and third trials was Emma Gargitter, also of 18 Red Lion Court. Reports of these cases follow:
- R v Ibrahim and others [2008] EWCA Crim 880; [2008] 4 All E.R. 208; [2008] 2 Cr. App. R. 23
The high-profile prosecution of four men for attempting to carry out suicide bombings in London on the 21st July 2007. Max Hill prosecuted both in the Crown Court and at the Court of Appeal where the admissibility of their initial interviews, carried out without legal representation were unsuccessfully challenged by defendants. Their long sentences (life, with a minimum of 40 years' imprisonment to be served) where justified considering the extreme nature of the offences.
- R v Sherif (Abdul) and others [2008] EWCA Crim 2653
Having led for the prosecution at trial, Max Hill appeared for the CPS in this appeal against sentence by six defendants found guilty of failing to disclose information which would have assisted in preventing the bombings in London on 21st July 2005. The original sentences were held to be proportionate due to the extreme nature of the acts of terrorism, although greater credit was given on appeal for the amount of time the defendants had spent under house arrest.
- R v Girma and others [2009]EWCA Crim 912
Max Hill again led for the prosecution at trial, and appeared for the CPS in the last of the appeals arising from the ‘21/7’ sequence of trials. In addition to reviewing the sentences imposed upon, amongst others, the wife of the ‘21/7’ bomber Hussein Osman, the Court considered the application of section 74 PACE and the admission at trial of the guilty plea of a co-defendant. All of the convictions were upheld.
In addition to criminal trial work, he has been instructed by the Treasury Solicitor on behalf of the Government in proceedings relating to the detention of British nationals in Guantánamo, including the case of Binyam Mohamed v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (3) [2008] EWHC 2519 (Admin) [2008] WLR(D) 323. He is also instructed to appear on behalf of the Home Secretary in terrorism Control Order cases in the High Court. These cases are being reviewed following the House of Lords’ judgment in AF(No.3) v Secretary of State for the Home Department. Max Hill appeared on behalf of the Home Secretary in SSHD v BB and BC [2009] EWHC 2927 (Admin), in which Collins J gave a judgment on 11/11/09 ruling that AF (No.3) applied to ‘light-touch’ control orders. Permission to appeal was granted.
Coroner’s Inquests into the London Bombings of 7 July 2005
Max Hill was instructed by the Directorate of Legal Services at New Scotland Yard, to act for the Metropolitan Police Service throughout the Inquests before Lady Justice Hallett, which concluded on 6th May 2011. He led a team comprising four counsel and thirty police officers and staff, praised by the Coroner for their dedication and industry throughout the proceedings. In reaching verdicts of unlawful killing in respect of all 52 innocent victims of the atrocity, Lady Justice Hallett noted that the evidence before her included material which had never previously seen the light of day, expressed the hope that these proceedings bring an end to the investigation of what happened on 7/7, and concluded that the evidence did not justify the conclusion that there were any failings which caused or contributed to the deaths. Whilst issuing a Report under Rule 43 of the Coroner’s Rules which contains a number of Recommendations addressed to government departments and emergency responders, the Coroner did not single out the Metropolitan Police Service for any criticism.
Alongside his predominantly prosecution practice, he has continued to act for the defence in a number of significant fraud cases, including the recently concluded pharmaceutical industry cartel case R v O’Neill and others (also known as the SFO’s ‘Operation Holbein’), in which he defended Norton Healthcare Limited with Peter Carter QC since the SFO raids in 2002. Previous fraud experience includes defending with Anthony Arlidge QC in R v Webb and Simpson in 2000, an extraction fraud which went to the Court of Appeal when the Attorney General argued that non-custodial sentences were unduly lenient notwithstanding that the trial judge gave an indication during the trial. In addition to being Anthony Arlidge QC’s junior in this case, he acted alone in representing the third defendant who was acquitted following a submission of no case after three months of trial.
He was appointed Crown Court Recorder in 2004, and is a former Secretary of the Criminal Bar Association.
Publications and Seminars
He was a Contributing Editor for ‘A Practitioners Guide to Terrorist Trials’, written by Barnaby Jameson and Peter Carter QC and published in 2007. He is a regular lecturer to Counter-Terrorism police officers at NPIA training courses, and has published a chapter on Safety Interviews and Oppression for the NPIA Journal (the latter with Emma Gargitter).
He has presented seminars on (as part of the 18RLC lecture series) the Serious Organised Crime Prosecution Act, and (to corporate clients) on the Enterprise Act.
He has also lectured on ‘Investigating and prosecuting terrorist offences’ at the Investigation and Prosecution Conference 2009 organised by Justice, and on Computer Evidence at the First Forensic Forum (F3) Annual Conference 2009.
