News & Events: Regulatory & Disciplinary
From ‘Inadequate’ to ‘Good’ – turning round a Care Provider’s rating
Mark Ruffell was instructed to represent a well-established domiciliary care provider who faced having their registration being cancelled by the CQC. The background is a familiar tale of a service provider who had previously been rated as ‘Good’, finding that in a routine inspection in 2016 it ‘Required Improvement.’ In early 2017 it was inspected […]
Safety Errors can be very Expensive
Westminster City Council v The Zoological Society of London [ZSL] On 22nd October 2018 ZSL was fined a total of £40,000 with costs of £8000 for failing to ensure the safety of an employee, and linked, failing to have in place adequate a risk assessment. On 16th July 2016 a keeper using a step ladder […]
Peter Asteris and Tim Akers secure acquittals after five-month fraud trial at Southampton Crown Court
Peter Asteris and Tim Akers secured the acquittal of a client of all offences charged in the longest-running trial that has taken place at Southampton Crown Court. Over the course of five months, eleven defendants were on trial for charges of conspiracy to defraud and fraud in a Trading Standards prosecution that arose out of […]
Mark Ruffell successfully represents solicitor before Disciplinary Tribunal
Mark Ruffell has successfully mitigated on behalf of a solicitor who admitted contacting her imprisoned client by mobile phone; sending him 102 text messages in less than three months. In mitigation before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, Mr Ruffell said that at the time his client set up her own practice, she did not appreciate “the […]
John Dyer joins Pump Court Chambers
Pump Court Chambers is delighted to announce the arrival of John Dyer as part of our Criminal and Regulatory Team expansion. An expert in all areas of criminal law, recent cases include murder, serious violence, kidnap, serious sexual offences (including rape, historic cases, offences involving children, youths and those with learning difficulties, indecent images), false […]
Fire Safety Regulations
Mark Ruffell, Head of Pump Court Chambers Regulatory and Disciplinary Team has recently presented a seminar on Fire Safety Regulation following the Grenfell Tower tragedy. The seminar is designed to assist Local Authorities and landlords with the various powers to maintain fire safety and highlights the consequences if the regulations are not maintained.
Colin Banham successfully represents Inspector at Disciplinary Proceedings
Colin Banham represented an Inspector at a misconduct hearing arising from an incident where he was alleged to have confronted fellow officers in the street, who were arresting an intoxicated member of the public. It was alleged that, in the early hours of the morning, the officer was out socially with friends. An intoxicated male […]
Colin Banham successfully represents a Metropolitan Police Officer at disciplinary proceedings
Colin Banham represented a Police Constable at a misconduct hearing arising from a breakdown of a relationship. The officer was said to have stolen the credit card details of his ex-partner and used them without her permission. He was also alleged to have used derogatory language in a drunken phone call, which was overheard by […]
Colin Banham successfully represents a DCI from the Metropolitan Police at disciplinary proceedings
Colin Banham successfully represented a DCI at a misconduct hearing where the officer faced allegations that he breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour in relation to Authority, Respect and Courtesy and Equality and Diversity. The officer was alleged to have made sexist and racist comments to junior officers, as well as reducing another officer to […]
Former officer faces substantial sentence
James Newton-Price has successfully prosecuted a former Bedfordshire policeman who ‘trawled’ Facebook to find vulnerable teenage girls for sex. Mohammad Arshad 35, of Luton, groomed underage girls online and pestered them for sex, sometimes paying them, St Albans Crown Court heard. He began abusing girls in 2012 when he was a CCTV operator in Luton […]
Dishonesty in Regulatory Proceedings
It is important to realise that those sitting in regulatory proceedings may have a wide and varied perception of the meaning of Dishonesty. That itself is not surprising. Those of us who cut our teeth in the wide environs of criminal law have come to realise that dishonesty as a concept lies on a spectrum. […]
Colin Banham successfully represents a City of London officer at disciplinary proceedings
Colin Banham has successfully represented a City of London officer facing breaches of the Professional Standards of Behaviour in relation to Honesty and Integrity, Duties and Responsibilities and Discreditable Conduct. The officer was the subject of a Gross Misconduct Hearing following allegations that he used racist language when conducting a stop and search, unlawfully seized […]