Greg Treverton-Jones QC successfully resists wasted costs application in high-profile criminal case

News Gregory Treverton-Jones QC 17th March 2014

Greg Treverton-Jones QC (leading Anna Vigars of Guildhall Chambers, Bristol) acted successfully for the Crown Prosecution Service in resisting a wasted costs application in R v Counsell, a prosecution which arose of a multi-fatality crash on the M5 on 4^th November 2011 which had been allegedly caused by smoke drifting from a firework display at a nearby rugby ground. The Defendant was originally charged with manslaughter, but this was dropped and the prosecution proceeded instead under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The Defendant was acquitted on the direction of the judge at the close of the prosecution case. He applied for an order that the CPS pay the entire costs of his defence. This application was refused by the Judge, and a copy of the ruling can be found here. Until October 2012, privately paying Defendants acquitted in the Crown Court could expect to receive their costs out of central funds, but that is no longer the case, and an increase in wasted costs applications can be anticipated.

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Gregory Treverton-Jones QC