Keith Hadrill

Year of Call: 1977

Specialist practice areas: Serious Crime, Criminal/Civil Fraud, Serious Sexual Offences, Regulation/Compliance, Asset Forfeiture, Anti-terrorism, Prison Law, Health & Safety, Police Disciplinary, Courts Martial, Inquests & Public Inquiries

Keith's practice encompasses serious and complex fraud, substantial drug importation and supply offences and violent crime, Judicial Review and appellate hearings, licensing (of all types including alcohol, gaming and firearms), Health & Safety, Trading standards, Road traffic, Prison law and Courts Martial.

The majority of the work Keith undertakes he is instructed in as a leading junior. Originally, Keith’s practice was general common law which included family law, but which developed over the years to become principally crime based. Keith undertakes cases on the south-eastern and western circuit, but is also instructed in other parts of the country.

Serious Crime

Criminal work undertaken includes substantial fraud, drugs offences, serious violence, sexual offences and general serious and complex crime. He is frequently instructed in substantial and lengthy fraud cases (Inland Revenue, VAT and MTIC), on behalf of the defence on the south-eastern and other circuits. He is also often involved in major cases alleging conspiracy, including those involving issues of entrapment and agent provocateur.

Keith is instructed in cases concerning telephone surveillance, mobile telephone location and tracking relating to police covert operation. Abuse of process hearings relating to both participating informers and entrapment. Childcare cruelty and paedophilia conspiracies. Instructed increasingly in murder cases, increasingly involving psychiatric and medical evidence.

Regulatory Proceedings

Although Keith’s practice focuses predominantly on criminal litigation he also undertakes regulatory work including trading standards, road traffic offences and disciplinary hearings, international money laundering offences (including evidence taken out of the jurisdiction). Banking fraud (helped by having worked in the past for a merchant bank), company and accountancy fraud.

Professional defendants: Instructed for accountants with regards to pension provisions, nursing home staff and managers relating to over-sedated/abused patients/residents by staff requiring knowledge of drugs, medical and otherwise, and the relevant regulations. Noxious substance prosecutions as they relate to stupefaction of residents in nursing homes requiring pharmacological and medical experts. Defended St John Ambulance in its first prosecution of that type under the Health and Safety Regulations for causing death. Defence of consultant surveyor involved in an animal offences prosecution (building development work).

Civil Proceedings

False imprisonment and malicious prosecution proceedings, release on prison licence and parole hearings on judicial review to the Administrative Court. Other work includes regulatory offences including nursing homes, trading standards, general road traffic offences and disciplinary tribunals.

Notable Cases

R v. F - Winchester Crown Court. – instructed as junior in 3 month Conspiracy to rob trial, which related to robbery of businessman and firearms offences by falsely imprisoning victim's family members, abducting the husband / business key-holder and forcing him to unlock business premises and de-activate the alarm system. Also conspiracy to rob regarding armed lorry hi-jacking of valuable cargo. Many forensics experts involved.

R v. T  (Guildford crown Court). Accountancy fraud.

R v. T – (Reading Crown Court).  Instructed as junior Bank manager fraud regarding £2 million loss.

R v. Ewington. Defendant indicted for racist petrol bomb attacks on a petrol station belonging to and operated by an ethnic minority family in May 2004, and followed 14 months later by a racist petrol bomb attack on a mosque and religious centre in Surrey in August 2005 in revenge for the London bomb attacks on 7^th July 2005.

R v. Carter. International car-ringing and repair fraud, and insurance fraud regarding luxury sports cars. Instructed as leading junior for one of defendants in a series of complex luxury car-ringing and insurance frauds/conspiracies. Damaged luxury sports cars were often imported from Europe and the Far East and their identities put into other stolen luxury cars. 

R v. K - Newcastle Crown Court. Drugs conspiracy and Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) and covert telephone recordings.

R v. Pond. Leading junior in section 18 group violence. Victim on life support machine.

R v. Kelly - Kingston Crown Court. Represented defendant as leading junior. Defendant was one of a gang who for three-and-a-half years hi-jacked and robbed high value lorry loads by use of firearms.

R v. Johnson and others, (three-month drugs conspiracy). Instructed as leading junior for defendant in this complex and involved drugs conspiracy. Defendant acquitted.

R v. Dutton. Conspiracy to import and supply cannabis valued at £15 million from Mexico. The drugs were imported into this country concealed within furniture in cargo containers on board ship. The police investigation lasted nine months, and involved a lengthy covert police surveillance operation, culminating with the arrest of ten defendants, following the unloading and storage of drugs and furniture in West London. Defendants acquitted.

R v. Bhayro. Defendant was a nursing home owner/manager/proprietor accused of unlawfully administering noxious substances/medication to her clients/residents to over sedate them and stop them disturbing other residents and the running of the home.

R v. E and L (and others). Instructed as leading junior for two defendants in a 15 defendant violent disorder and grievous bodily harm trial.

R v. Hallam and others. Leading junior for defendant in conspiracy to supply class 'A' drugs. Substantial covert police surveillance operation.

R v. Armstrong. Instructed for the principal of eight defendants listed for eight-week trial for kidnapping, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. He was the alleged gang leader of a Sri Lankan gang terrorising and injuring opposing gang members in their South London area.

R-v- B (Reading Crown Court) instructed as defence leading junior in murder case, related to business related killing when business partners fell out.

R-v-Turner (Reading Crown Court) – instructed as leading junior in substantial fraud, defending in house company accountant who defrauded private company owners of cash, pension and business amounting to over £1 million. -accountancy fraud

Q-v-O’M & S (Winchester Crown Court) instructed for defence of soldiers indicted with s18 GBH on victim in this country following their return from active tour duty in Iraq.

Q-v-Stott & 2 others (Chichester Crown Court) – instructed as leading junior in the prosecution of 3 defendants indicted with arson with intent to endanger life. The victim was a vulnerable man with learning difficulties.

Recent Cases

Q-v-Horncastle & Carter (& others) [2009] 2 Cr.App.R. 19 – instructed in appeal against conviction for the appellant Carter. Appeal based upon admissibility of hearsay evidence introduced at his trial. Case selected as 1 of 3 cases to be argued to decide legal principals of admissibility of hearsay evidence in documentary form. Appeal successfully argued.

R-v-W (and others) Southwark Crown Court - instructed as leading junior for defence in 3 month MTIC international conspiracy fraud regarding cheating the public revenue (VAT) of £250 million.

R-v-A (and others) Southwark Crown Court – instructed as leading junior for the defence in possibly the largest (value and quantities) commercial conspiracy to import and supply cannabis. Prosecution covert investigation lasting 18 months.

R-v-W (and others) Reading crown Court - instructed as leading junior for defence in 6 week conspiracy to defraud involving cheating the land registry over the fraudulent of £7.5 million sale of land and property in Ascot, Surrey.

R-v-H (Central criminal Court) instructed as junior in 10 week murder trial for defendant indicted with causing the death of 3 year son by his mother. Defence case relying on extensive medical expert evidence, and with a mother of limited needs.

R-v-N (and others) Central Criminal Court - instructed as junior for defence in 7-week murder trial for defendant involved in gang attack on another gang.

R-v-S (and others) Kingston Crown Court instructed as leading junior defending principal defendant in international human trafficking offences

R-v- C [and others] (Winchester Crown Court) instructed as leading junior for defence in 4 week trial for youth indicted with his mother of arson with intent to endanger life. At night setting fire to home of his estranged fathers girlfriends home. Defendant suffering from ADHD and immature for age, and other age limiting conditions

R-v-Walker [and others] (Winchester Crown Court) instructed as leading junior for defence in substantial conspiracy to supply Class a drugs and false imprisonment.

R-v-M (and others) - Catterick general Court Martial centre – instructed as leading junior in 8 week trial of senior NCO in high profile, weapons and explosives smuggling from Iraq to Germany.

R-v-Harper (and others) instructed as junior for defendant indicted with perverting course of justice by helping her boyfriend concealed the body of a man he murdered, and which was buried in woods to conceal the killing and dispose of the body.

R-v-A & others (Southwark Crown Court) – instructed as leading junior for defence in £120 million drugs case relating to conspiracy to import and supply cannabis.

R-v-Markham (Kingston Crown court) instructed for defence in £multi-million drugs conspiracy

R-v-Dixey (Guildford crown) instructed as leading junior for defence for offences alleging series of historic rape and indecent assaults upon 2 separate family members. 

R v. B [and four others] (Winchester Crown Court) - 2 month trial -instructed as junior in a Contract killing case.

Memberships

South-Eastern Circuit

Criminal Bar Association

Surrey & South London Bar Mess Committee Member