About

Rankings

Ranked as Silk Tier One in the 2025 edition of The Legal 500 for Crime

• “Peter is a compelling advocate, and his ability to engage with a jury is natural and exceptional.” The Legal 500 (2025)

• “Peter is an exceptional barrister. His consistently courteous and friendly demeanour belies a steely determination to do his best for his client. Those who underestimate him do so at their peril” – The Legal 500 (2024)

• “He has a charm with juries that defuses tense situations.” – The Legal 500 (2021)

• “Very well known for handling cases of complex homicide.” – The Legal 500 (2019)

• “Highly regarded for complex homicide cases.” – The Legal 500 (2017)

Counter-terrorism

Peter has worked in Nigeria, having been invited by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office to advise Nigeria’s elite advocates in the presentation of terrorism cases. Peter has continued this specialist training for elite advocates in Tanzania and Somaliland.

Lecturing & Training

Peter has delivered seminars and lectures to defence solicitors on a range of topics including closing speeches, cross-examination, examination in chief and principally disclosure. He has designed and delivered numerous courses on disclosure. He is an accredited advocacy trainer and has addressed 250 delegates from the National Ballistics and Intelligence Service and the Association of Chief Police Officers concerning firearms legislation. He was guest speaker for the Medaille Trust (Charity to combat modern slavery ) conference in Slovenia in 2022.

Experience

During his career in Silk Peter has been instructed in lengthy, complex, joint-enterprise murder, and manslaughter cases initially for the Prosecution and in the last 6/7 years increasingly by the Defence.

He has defended in multi-defendant international and domestic conspiracy cases. He has appeared in murder cases involving firearms, knife crime, loss of self-control, self-defence, abnormality of mental functioning, and cases involving complex medical-causation issues.

Peter has defended in a case involving the murder and serious serial physical abuse of a baby aged four and a half months. This involved the assimilation of, and challenge to, highly complex pathological, neuropathological, and histo-pathological evidence.

He has defended regularly in multi defendant cases involving “cut – throat “defences.

He is very well versed in the analysis and presentation of complex telephone evidence and able to challenge attribution and other evidence relating to the seizure and alleged use of electronic devices.

In addition to the forgoing, he is instructed regularly by the defence in a range of cases on a privately paid basis. He has successfully defended clients from the professions.

As indicated by the commentaries above he has an excellent manner with clients from all backgrounds. He is alive to their needs taking time and care with them to explain the case and his presentation of it on their behalf.

Chambers and Door Tenancies

PSQB Leeds

Rose Court Chambers - Covent Garden London (Door Tenant)

Bank House Chambers - Sheffield (Door Tenant)

Notable Cases

R v RW 2024 - Refers defended in a lengthy joint enterprise knife crime case- murder and attempted case with alleged gang related affiliations – defendant acquitted on all counts.

R v AH 2024 - Prosecution - Murder and two attempted murder counts – defendant convicted (Life - Minimum term 36 years).

R v DH 2024 - Defended Murder / Manslaughter / Robbery at Senior citizens care facility – acquitted of murder.

2023 & 2024 - Anumber of RASSO prosecutions.

R v AA - 2023 - Defended allegations of attempted murder and associated allegations – alleged gang revenge attacks – defendant acquitted on all counts.

R v HP 2023 - Defended allegations of murder / manslaughter “honey trap” case – defendant acquitted of murder.

R v AB 2023 - Prosecution of youth for murder / manslaughter – conviction for murder.

R v GH 2023 - Defended a youth for murder and manslaughter on the basis of duress- defendant acquitted on all counts.

R v JM 2023 - Defended terrorist offences-youth.

R V A 2022 defending murder of father by son.

R V W,W,H 2022 and S defending terrorist and firearms offence.

‍R v M & Ors 2018 - Prosecuted in a case involving a fatal shooting of a man by the Police.

R v W 2018 (refers) - Prosecuted serving inmate who murdered a child killer.

R v ZL (refers)2018 – Secured life sentence against a husband who murdered his wife in Halifax and was sentenced for life with a minimum term of 24 years. Media Coverage: Halifax Courier, BBC News.

R v NH (2018) – Prosecuted murder of Aldi worker. A man who stabbed to death his ex-partner’s daughter at an Aldi supermarket has been jailed for at least 30 years. – Media coverage: BBC.

R v G - 2019 - Prosecuted in a case involving the murder by son and mother of a vulnerable victim ( R v D refers ) and defended in a running down and machete attempted murder case.