Bernard Tetlow KC

MURDER AND SERIOUS VIOLENCE

R v KH & Others | Old Bailey. Victim robbed and murdered for high-value Patek Philippe Nautilus watch after exclusive party in the City of London. Extensive CCTV and phone evidence. Bernard was KC for KH. Not guilty of murder but manslaughter only.

R v BA & Others | Manchester Crown Court. Rival Asian gang feud in Manchester. The victim was attacked with machetes and baseball bats and left with life-changing injuries. All five defendants were charged with conspiracy to murder. Bernard was KC for BA, acquitted at the end of the prosecution case after a successful argument to exclude all phone evidence and a legal submission of no case to answer.

R v KI & Others | Birmingham Crown Court. Revenge attack following shooting and firebombing of a house. KI and others gave chase and caught the perpetrators. The victim was stabbed and died at the scene. Despite extensive CCTV footage of the scene and other evidence, including phone messages, cell site, and eyewitnesses, our client KI was not convicted of murder.

R v DM & others | Old Bailey. Rival blue and red gangs. Rideout to avenge the killing of a friend. DM and others were allegedly involved in a shootout on Stonebridge Park estate. All defendants were charged with murder even though someone from the rival gang shot the victim—an extension of the transferred malice principle. Bernard was KC for DM. The case is currently awaiting resolution in the Court of Appeal. This is a highly unusual and important case.

R v DH & Others | Croydon Crown Court. Client DH and his two brothers were charged with murder. They carried out a revenge attack on the victim who had just attacked their front door. They pursued him down the street with knives and baseball bats and attacked him. Despite extensive CCTV evidence, witnesses and cell site evidence, DH was acquitted.

R v Q & Others | Bradford Crown Court. Eight defendant murder involving the torture and beating to death of a gang member in a warehouse near Bradford. Much of the severe and graphic violence was filmed by some defendants on their phones. Bernard was KC for Q, who was acquitted of murder and all other charges despite being present at the scene.

R v KA | Birmingham Crown Court. Multi-defendant drug and gang-related shooting murder. KA disposed of the murder vehicle immediately after the shooting. Bernard was KC for KA, who was acquitted of all charges.

R v TA | Leamington Crown Court. 70-year-old farmer of impeccable character charged with gross negligence manslaughter arising from the electrocution of his son’s partner in a caravan with faulty electrical installations. Father and son both charged. Bernard was KC for TA, who was not guilty of manslaughter.

R v JC | Leamington Crown Court. Bernard was KC for JC, who was charged with four others with murder. The victim was attacked with a knife and other weapons, all visible on CCTV. JC was acquitted of murder.

R v HT & Others | Loughborough Special Court Centre. HT and seven others were charged with murder by shooting a rival gang member—4 shots fired from a Colt revolver, one a fatal headshot. Our client HT was allegedly the shooter. Evidence included facial recognition, phone calls and extensive CCTV evidence. He was also identified by the other four co-defendants who travelled in the same car.

R v HR & Others | Leamington Crown Court. Multi-defendant murder and attempted murder by stabbing. There is a long-running family feud. 2 victims attacked and stabbed outside a mosque.  Bernard was KC for HR.

R v LW & Others |Winchester Crown Court. Bernard was KC for LW, who, together with three others, was charged with murder arising out of a revenge attack for the robbery of drugs. The victim was attacked with clubs and a machete. This case is currently the subject of an appeal to the Court of Appeal.

R v SD & Others | Bradford Crown Court. The defendant was acquitted of conspiracy to murder with a firearm.  CCTV, phone, and cell site evidence linked SD to the offence.

R v JC | Birmingham Crown Court. The defendant was charged with murder with a knife, inflicting 20 stab wounds. The defendant was also charged with attempted murder with a gun.

R v S & Others | Oxford Crown Court. The 10-handed murder started in April 2018: gang-related, anonymous witnesses, CCTV, DNA, cell site, and cutthroat defences.

R v EB & Others | Old Bailey. Four defendants’ joint enterprise murder and robbery using knives and a handgun. Despite strong CCTV and eyewitness evidence, EB and other defendants were acquitted of all charges.

R V WG & Six Others | Manchester Crown Court
WG and others charged with gang-related stabbing murder in Manchester. Evidence included CCTV, eyewitnesses, and the victim’s blood on his jacket. He was acquitted of murder after a two-month trial.

R v ZK & Others |Bradford Crown Court. ZK and three others were in a car from which several shots were fired from a handgun, hitting and killing the victim outside his home. Joint enterprise murder alleged. ZK was acquitted of murder and manslaughter because he was unaware of the gun and did not encourage the shooting.

R v OD & Others | Old Bailey. OD was one of three charged with murder following a knife attack outside a club in London. The prosecution case relied heavily on a voice enhancement expert, who we successfully undermined in cross-examination, leading to acquittal on murder and manslaughter.

R v JL | Winchester Crown Court. JL was accused of conspiracy to murder together with his mother and father. The victim was the father’s new wife, who was beaten to death by this defendant’s father: extensive phone evidence, CCTV, ANPR and other circumstantial solid evidence. JL was acquitted after a two-month trial.

R v JG | Old Bailey. JG was charged with murder after a fight in the street involving fists and a knife. The victim was stabbed in the heart. Defence of self-defence using a knife because the victim also had a knife. Many eyewitnesses. They were acquitted of murder and manslaughter.

R v CJS |Guildford Crown Court. CJS was cleared of murdering student JM and was found guilty of manslaughter. JM died after CJS set fire to his car whilst she was trapped in the boot. The case was reported in the Independent, Metro and the Evening Standard.

R v C & 3 Others | Central Criminal Court. A drug and gang-related kidnapping and murder. The client was acquitted after a two-month trial.

R v C |Southwark Crown Court. A stabbing outside a London nightclub. The defendant was acquitted of murder despite extensive CCTV footage.

R v S & Another | Cambridge Crown Court. 78-year-old man beaten to death during a burglary. Bernard’s successful cross-examination of the co-defendant was featured on the BBC regional news.

R v D | Nottingham Crown Court.  The victim was stabbed 16 times—cutthroat defence.

R v S | Court of Appeal. Murder by shooting with Mach 10 sub-machine gun. Different counsel represented the defendant at trial. Bernard is now appealing the conviction on a pro bono basis.

R v V | Central Criminal Court. The Lithuanian sat nav murder. The case was extensively covered in the national press and on Crimewatch.

FINANCIAL CRIME AND CONFISCATION

Bernard is highly ranked in Legal 500 and experienced in all areas of fraud, including missing trader intra-community (MTIC) and other VAT frauds, boiler room frauds, money laundering, corruption, insider dealing, other Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) offences, asset restraint and confiscation.

Bernard has defended some of the biggest MTIC and carousel frauds, including representing the main defendant in a £50 million carousel fraud where the conviction was quashed following the malpractice exposure at HMRC.

Bernard can provide legal, strategic and tactical advice at all stages of an investigation and during the trial process.

Appointments

• Kings Counsel – 2011

PROFESSIONAL REGULATION

• Bernard has experience in regulatory work, particularly at the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

• Member of CBA
• South Eastern Circuit
• FLA