David Batcup
Year of Call: 1974 LLB (Hons) London
Affiliations: South Eastern Circuit
Appointments: Recorder
Specialist Areas: Homicide, Large Drugs Related Offences, Sexual Offences, Confiscation, Restraint & Asset Recovery Proceedings, Serious Fraud & White Collar Crime, Money Laundering, Regulatory & Compliance Work
BiographyDavid Batcup is a highly experienced barrister regularly instructed as a leading junior in all areas of serious crime. He has notable regulatory experience in Health and Safety offences and defending DEFRA prosecutions for alleged breaches of fishing quotas. His practice is focused around his areas of particular experience which include:
Homicide
Confiscation
Serious Sexual Offences
Major Drug Trafficking
Armed Robberies
Money Laundering
Serious Fraud
Regulatory & Compliance Work
David is regularly instructed as a leading junior in complex and demanding cases – representing company directors; multiple child abuse allegations arising out of lengthy police investigations into abuse in local authority or government institutions often involving difficult and extensive issues of third party disclosure; allegations of participation in armed criminal gangs, the subject of lengthy surveillance operations; multi-million pound Revenue diversion frauds; substantial drugs importation/trafficking and money laundering cases and the technical and complicated issues arising out of the confiscation hearings in such cases.
CasesMURDER
R v Anderson – Burrows (Multi-handed murder involving cut throat defences)
R v Reguibi
R v Parkhomenko
R v Hodgson
R v Read (Gross negligence manslaughter allegation – acquitted on submission)
ARMED ROBBERY & SERIOUS VIOLENCE
R v Bryan (Defendant charged with high value jewel robberies at gun point and part of a team of cash in transit robbery gang)
R v Yusuf Arsan (Double attempted murder as part of alleged gangland feud)
R v Extol Powell (Alleged to be enforcer for international conspiracy to import drugs from West Africa using young couriers)
R v Darren Thompson (Conspiracy to transfer prohibited weapons an anti terrorist squad investigation)
DRUGS
R v Otusanyo (Major conspiracy to import cocaine from Kenya through numerous couriers. Over 100kg potentially imported. One of the first SOCA investigations and prosecutions)
R v McConkey (Alleged ringleader of one of the largest ever seizures by Metropolitan Police of cannabis)
R v Delroy Small (Large scale dealing in over 100kg of heroin)
FRAUD
R v Ackerman (Large scale fraud on building contract for the nuclear submarine repair yard a the Plymouth Dockyard)
R v Ghazala Khan (Mortgage fraud)
SERIOUS SEXUAL OFFENCES
R v Goad (Successfully resisted the attempt to increase the sentence on the defendant whose admitted paedophile offences over many years had attracted widespread media investigation and commentary)
R v Mayberry (Successfully secured the quashing of convictions for alleged historic sexual offences in a case which had raised concerns about the use of trawling to investigate these sorts of offences)
R v Haydn Davies (Successfully secured the staying of historic allegations of alleged abuse after over two weeks of legal argument on abuse of process)
R v Milberry & Ors (Guideline case for sentencing in serious sexual offences)
CONFISCATION
R v Kemal (Alleged benefit of £18m)
R v Timmins (Alleged benefit of £3.5m for defendant who had assets in that amount -secured settlement of £750,000.
DISCLOSURE
R v Early & Ors (Guilty pleas of defendant [Pearcy] quashed on appeal following failure to disclose by HM C & E)