Timothy Roberts Q.C.
Call: 1978 Gray's Inn - admitted to practice in the Solomon Islands.
Education: LLB (Hons) Southampton, London College of Law Bar Finals.
Silk: 2003
Recorder: 1993
Introduction
Tim Roberts was Head of Chambers from 2000 until January 2010 and was the first ever QC appointed from Teesside. His practice is concerned exclusively with crime and he has significant experience and depth of expertise in a number of criminal fields as indicated by some of the highlighted cases below. He has extensive advocacy experience in the Crown Court, Court of Appeal and House of Lords.
He was Leading defence counsel in the foremost reported case concerning a police undercover operation to infiltrate a criminal conspiracy of the Covert Human Intelligence Sources Code of Practice. The relationship between breaches of the Code and State-incited crime was explored (R v Harmes and Crane [2006] EWCA Crim 928.
Tim was Leading defence counsel for one of the accused in the Baby P murder trial which tested the application of Section 5 of the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004 to third parties.
Tim has particular expertise in cases which concern undercover police operations to detect organised crime, covert surveillance and telephone intercepts (under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act) as well as Agent Provocateur and entrapment cases.
He has been involved in high profile cases concerning manslaughter by gross negligence at sea, a chemical spillage at the mouth of The Tees, a £40 million cocaine importation, police corruption, the reckless transmission of sexual diseases and telephone tapping.
He is regularly instructed in child abuse cases as well as fraud, rape, murder, cell-site analysis, drug trafficking and commercial as well as V.A.T. fraud.
Recent and significant cases
R v Smurthwaite and Gill (98 Crim. App. R. 437) Entrapment. Undercover Officers.
R v Agar (90 Cr. App. R. 318) Informants.
Attorney General's Reference No. 5 2002 (2005 1 AC 167) H.L. Telephone interceptions on private systems.
R v Konzani (2005 EWCA Crim 706) Transmission of H.I.V. contrary to section 20 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. Defence of consent.
Associations
Criminal Bar Association
North Eastern Circuit
- James Hill Q.C. (1984)
- Timothy Roberts Q.C. (1978)
- Martin Bethel Q.C. (1965)
- David Hatton Q.C. (1976)
- Adrian Dent (1974)
- Deborah Sherwin (1979)
- Roderick Hunt (1981)
- Ian West (1985)
- Graeme Gaston (1991)
- Joanne Kidd (1995)
- Tom Mitchell (1995)
- Richard Bennett (1996)
- Robin Turton (1996)
- Annelise Haugstad (1996)
- Martin Towers (1996)
- Jonathan Walker (1997)
- Sam Faulks (1997)
- Kate Dodds (2000)
- Stuart Allison (2002)
- Scott Smith (2003)
- Kieran Rainey (2004)
- Helen Hogben (2006)
- Rebecca Brown (2007)
- Penny Bottomley (2006)
Contact information
| General Enquiries: | 01642 804040 |
|---|---|
| Facsimile: | 01642 804060 |
| Criminal Team: | 01642 260452 |
| Civil/Family Team: | 01642 260453 |
Cleveland Business Centre
1 Watson Street
Middlesbrough
TS1 2RQ
DX 711700 Middlesbrough 11