Hannah Willcocks

Hannah practises in all areas of crime with a particular focus on serious, financial and regulatory crime and asset forfeiture work.

 

She prosecutes as a Grade 3 advocate for the Crown Prosecution Service, is on the Attorney General’s C List and has recently been instructed by the Financial Services Authority, the Crown Prosecution Service (including the former Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office), D.E.F.R.A. (including the Marine Management Organisation) and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.

 

Hannah is predominantly briefed as prosecution Counsel in large, multi-handed and complex cases and having now acted as disclosure Counsel in three heavyweight prosecutions, has a comprehensive knowledge and extensive experience of the disclosure and public interest immunity regime.

 

 

Co-editor of The Encyclopedia of Road Traffic Law and Practice, Sweet and Maxwell.

 

 

 

Hannah is currently instructed as second junior in the FSA’s flagship insider dealing / market abuse case. The details of the case are confidential as the investigation is on-going.

 

R v Bharat Odedra and others [2011]:  6-handed trial arising out of a £22million VAT (Missing Trader Intra-Community) fraud and money laundering investigation,Op. Ghast. The case was due to be prosecuted by Queen’s Counsel and Standing Counsel to the Attorney-General. However, due to Queen Counsel’s unforeseen unavailability, Hannah stood in as junior Counsel for the Crown. She called various witnesses including a VAT assurance officer whose statements ran to over 30 pages and cross-examined two out of the three defendants who gave evidence. Hannah also acted as second disclosure Counsel in Op. Ghast.

 

Op. Stirling [2008-2011] – Disclosure Counsel in a large scale tax fraud investigated by the Northumbrian police. Part of Hannah’s brief included carrying out an extensive review of probe material and at one stage, directing and supervising 16 police officers in that review. Hannah’s management of the material in accordance with the Crown’s disclosure obligations was deemed so successful that it has since become the framework for all operations involving the deployment and use of probes within Northumbria Police.

 

R v Islam and others [2008-2010]: junior prosecution counsel in an 11-handed banking fraud.

 

R v Shokat Ali and Hussain [2007]: prosecution Counsel in a money laundering case.

 

 

Hannah has recently been instructed pre-charge as sole prosecution Counsel in a Marine Management Organisation investigation of nine suspects. The details of the case are confidential as the investigation is on-going.

 

R v Ronald Meddes and others [2009 – 2011]: 2^nd junior and disclosure Counsel in a DEFRA prosecution concerning the illegal importation and supply of approximately £6million of unauthorised and prescription - only veterinary medicines.  One of the largest prosecutions of its kind for DEFRA attracting local, national and international media interest, the case involved extradition proceedings, the obtaining of extensive evidence from abroad, contested expert evidence and issues arising from restraint proceedings.

 

R v Xiao Ping Yan [2011]: prosecution Counsel for the MHRA in the importation and possession of an unlicencsed medicinal product, namely Jia Yi Jian.

 

 

Op. Nutant [2007 -2008]: junior prosecution counsel in case involving the importation of 36.72 kilos of heroin.

 

R v Baljit Bhandal and others [2006]: junior counsel for the prosecution in 6-handed case involving two conspiracies to kidnap. The case involved one defendant giving Queen’s Evidence for the Crown. In addition, there was a significant amount of cell site evidence which Hannah called and cross-examined the experts upon.

 

 

In 2005 Hannah was seconded to the Asset Forfeiture at the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office where she gained a significant grounding in asset forfeiture work. Since then she has sought to develop her expertise in both this area and that of confiscation. She is regularly asked to draft and advise on restraint, consent and variation orders in restraint proceedings (under the CJA 1988 and POCA 2002) and in the cases of R v Islam and Others (see above) and R v John Patrick Reilly [2007] (conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and possession of firearms) was instructed to deal with the confiscation proceedings on her own, having originally been led.

 

Examples of work include:

 

Op. Thankful  [2007-2010]: prosecution Counsel in complex, lengthy confiscation proceedings in a drugs importation case. The proceedings resulted in a finding of hidden assets and a confiscation order of £238,304.87 was made.

 

In the Matter of Janak Patel and in the Matter of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 [October 2007 / April 2008]: advised on the appropriateness of seeking a restraint order and receivership post confiscation order in circumstances where new assets had been discovered by R.C.P.O. Also subsequently instructed to appear and advise in the confiscation enforcement proceedings following the granting of the restraint order.

 

In the matter of Christopher Barcroft and in the matter of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 [December 2007] : application to the High Court for a restraint order under the CJA 1988 on behalf of Thameside Metropolitan Council prior to the defendant being summonsed to the Magistrates’ Court in respect of benefit fraud offences. The order, as amended by Hannah, was granted.

 

 

R v ****** [2008]: defence counsel in GBH (later reduced to ABH) case in which the Defendant had run over another person with his car.

 

R v Yanie (Nii Ampan) [2007] EWCA Crim 1175: defence counsel in successful appeal against sentence regarding offences of supplying Class A drugs.

 

R v ******* [2007]: originally sole counsel for the defence but later led junior in rape case (oral) involving 16-year-old defendant and 15-year-old complainant.

 

R v L****** [2007]: sole defence counsel in complicated child pornography committal for sentence.

 

R v Mohammed Faruq and others [2005-2006]: second junior counsel for the prosecution in a 16-handed £611,000 benefit and immigration fraud (split into 3 trials).

1998 - BA Joint Hons Modern Languages (Bristol) 2:1

2000 - GDL (BPP Law School), Distinction

2001 - BVC (BPP Law School), Very Competent

 

Blackstone Prize for top GDL student at BPP Law School (2000)

BPP Law School Academic Bursary for Diploma in Law
Middle Temple Harmsworth Scholarship for BVC
Middle Temple Helena Normanton QC Prize