Julian Bevan ..The Star at the Bar

After 93 days , pissing away £20MN - no one has been convicted over the killing of Mr Musa, a 26-year-old father of two who suffered 93 injuries including fractured ribs, a broken nose and kidney failure during his detention.(pic of his father with pics of the family)

This result was entirely predictable.

How so?

Keen followers of the career of that ornament at the Bar, Julian Bevan QC were immediately alerted when he was chosen to lead the case for the prosecution. Their inoccence was assured.

So effective was he in making the case for the prosecution that when he had finished stating the case , Justice McKinnon threw out the case of five soldiers and that of Col. Jorge Emmanuel Mendonca, 43.

It was downhill all the way from there.

It was Julian Bevan, whose Rolls Royce mind missed the opportunity to expose the statistical fallacy of Professor Meadowcraft in the Sally Clark double infanticide case - which for an encore he also missed the purport of the question that the jury asked about the blood samples taken from the dead children. So sure of success was this gilded silk that he never even met his client - oerhpas if she had she might have sought other counsel.

It was this question, to which the paediatric pathologist Dr Williams lied, and to which he failed to appear to answer at the Appeal, when the case had been handed by a desperate defence to Claire Montgomery QC which finally sunk the case against Clark and led to her immediate release.

On December 10, 1996, businessman Richard Watson was murdered as he arrived home from work. The killer - ruthless, efficient, dressed in balaclava and jogging bottoms - shot him twice and then ran off. In April 1999 the case against his wife having procured a killer was due to start. It didn't. Within 30 minutes, the Crown case was aborted, on the advice of its leading counsel, Julian Bevan QC. The case had been dropped on the basis of information that had been available to the prosecution from January 24, 1997.

In November 2002 in the Court of Appeal, Robert Brown, one of Britain’s longest-serving prisoners, who had protested his innocence for 25 years was acquitted. Lord Justice Rose, with two other judges spent an hourconsidering the case and announced: "This verdict cannot be regarded as safe. We could not possibly be sure on what we have heard that the jury, had they known what we know, would have reached the same verdict. It is, to put it at its lowest, a possibility that they might have reached a quite different verdict."

The Scotsman reported at the time that within 18 minutes of the hearing starting at 10:30am on Wednesday November 13th 2002 , the Crown Counsel, Julian Bevan QC, was on his feet manfully explaining that he had no fight to fight. In legal terms he explained that he was, to all intents and purposes, throwing the towel in.

On the 15 January 2002 at the Court of Appeal took of Matlock's s conviction for murder was quashed after a sorry tale of lies, incompetence aStephen Downing's nd legal stupidity. Matthew Parris writing in the Times wrote, "For the Crown, Julian Bevan, QC, ....still managed to spend nearly an hour throwing in the towel. A kind of brow-furrowing bemusement hung over the public gallery as it slowly dawned on us that everyone - Crown, Defence and all three judges - agreed and had from the start. - They agreed not only that the conviction should be quashed, but on all the reasons why."

What finer man than Julian Bevan to present the Crown case if you wish to lose. The only problem now is Cpl Donald Payne, 35, of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, pleaded guilty to the charge at the start of a court martial to inhumanely treating Iraqi civilians....but was found inoccent of charges of manslaughter and perverting the course of justice.

Those further interested in the illustrious career of Julian Bevan might be interested in his role in supressing evidence in the M25 Murder case in 1993 before Justice Taylor.....here

Julian Bevan .. a man to watch.

UPDATE SENSATIONAL NEWS

Lawyer .com announces today ...

A group of star silks are breaking away from Hollis Whiteman Chambers to launch the most significant new set since Matrix Chambers was formed in 2000. These will be based in Smithfield and bear the name of Cloth Fair Chambers.

Julian Bevan QC, Timothy Langdale QC John Kelsey-Fry QC, and leading juniors Richard Horwell and Ian Winter are all understood to be leaving together with tenants from other leading criminal sets, including Edmund Lawson QC of 9-12 Bell Yard.

The barristers have declared their bold intention to form a set comprised only of QCs and leading juniors, who will focus on private and high-cost work.

The departures coincide with management changes at Hollis Whiteman as it comes to terms with the implications of the proposed changes to legal aid funding proposed by Lord Carter of Cole in his recent legal aid procurement review.

This move coincides with the retirement after 50 years at the Hollis Chambers in the Temple of the legendary senior clerk Michael Greenaway. Nicholas Purnell QC
previously of 23 Essex Street will head the chambers. Purnell acknowledges that the four most senior members of chambers - himself, Langdale, Lawson and Bevan - will at some point in the not-too-distant future be retiring.

Elsewhere the launch a new chambers focusing on high-value work has raised more than a few eyebrows (and hackles it seems) within the Inns of Court. Competitors said the establishment of the new set, Cloth Fair Chambers, smacked of arrogance: why should the seven assume that clients would pay more for their services?

This is how Chambers and Partners describe them ....

Whatever befalls it, as one observer stated, “the list of founding members is full of enough talent to make a grown man cry.” Fraud and libel specialist John Kelsey-Fry QC’s (Winner of a Chambers Bar Award in this field) place at the very top of the criminal Bar is agreed by all. As one eminent peer stated: “Were I to find myself in some really serious trouble he is the only person I would have to represent me.” Julian Bevan QC is another renowned big hitter in the fraud arena. Superlative praise abounded for Timothy Langdale QC, who is considered by commentators to come second to very few. He is a favourite among solicitors and opposing counsel alike, as is Edmund Lawson QC, who was referred to as “quite simply the greatest.” “Fearless advocate” Nicholas Purnell QC is best known for the quality of his criminal fraud practice. He was commended to researchers for two qualities in particular: “He is not selfishly ambitious - he doesn’t care who he offends and will fight any argument regardless of the personal cost.” The “absolutely brilliant” Ian Winter QC has earned the greatest repute for his fraud work and it came as no surprise to anybody when he was appointed silk this year. High-profile prosecution work this year for Richard Horwell QC has included the Chohan murders. He too was appointed silk in 2006.