Christopher Jenkins

Christopher’s practice spans the full spectrum of criminal offences, with an increasing focus on serious violence, fraud, sexual offences, and the supply and importation of drugs. Christopher is frequently instructed in cases involving complex and voluminous telephone, medical and financial material. Clients appreciate his ability to advise on complex matters in a straightforward and accessible manner.

Christopher is a CPS Grade 3 Prosecutor. He has considerable experience prosecuting serious violence, fraud, money laundering, sexual offences and drugs. Christopher also frequently prosecutes on behalf of private organisations such as Royal Mail , the Federation Against Copyright Theft and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.

Christopher has extensive experience defending members of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces in proceedings before the Courts Martial, and has represented clients accused of serious violence, sexual offending and supplying drugs to colleagues.

Christopher is frequently instructed by individuals, companies and insurers to defend a variety of road traffic offences, from allegations of drink-driving to incidents where a fatality has occurred. Christopher regularly appears before the Magistrates’ Court to advance special reasons and exceptional hardship arguments, in respect of which he enjoys an impressive success rate.

Christopher has a growing regulatory practice, and has experience acting for appellants in proceedings against a range of licensing authorities, including Transport for London, local authorities, and the Security Industry Authority.

Defence

Operation Sarto (Teesside Crown Court): Instructed to represent M, a registered nurse accused of ill-treating and neglecting patients at an independent specialist hospital in County Durham. The case arose from a BBC Panorama exposé and received national press coverage. One charge was withdrawn from the jury following a successful submission of no case to answer. M was unanimously acquitted of all remaining counts following a 6-week trial. Led by Josh Normanton.

R v S (Inner London Crown Court): Instructed to represent a client charged with involvement in a sophisticated conspiracy to supply cocaine and heroin over a 9-month period. The case involved a vast volume of telephone data and financial evidence, and required the cross-examination of a cell-site expert and forensic accountant. Led by Michael Attenborough.

R v DK (Luton Crown Court): Instructed to represent a client charged with conspiring to import and supply significant quantities of Class A drugs worth over half a million pounds. The case involved substantial cell-site and ANPR evidence. Led by David Osborne.

R v H (Woolwich Crown Court): H was charged with s.18 GBH and an associated weapon offence against an elderly complainant. The defence was that the allegations was fabricated, and that the injuries had been inflicted by the complainant’s son during a fight which the complainant had been attempting to break up. The case required the careful cross-examination of four eyewitnesses, one of whom was an immigration officer. The client was unanimously acquitted after a 6-day trial.

R v G (Woolwich Crown Court): G was charged with the robbery of an off-licence. G had been identified as the robber by two independent witnesses, lived round the corner from the off-licence, and had multiple convictions for like offending. G was unanimously acquitted following a 5-day trial.

R v L (Kingston Crown Court): L was charged with producing industrial quantities of cannabis. The client was living in a house that had been specifically converted into a commercial cannabis factory, with the operation valued at around £500,000. The defence centred around a lack of knowledge that cannabis was being produced at the address. The trial involved the cross-examination of a drugs expert and sensitive questioning of the client, who was herself vulnerable. L was unanimously acquitted. Christopher’s conduct of the trial was praised by the trial Judge.

R v K (Harrow Crown Court): K was charged with a domestic burglary in which hundreds of thousands of pounds’-worth of jewellery had been stolen from the address. Christopher was appointed by the Court to represent K after she was found to be unfit to plead. The prosecution were forced to offer no evidence following legal argument on the admissibility of hearsay evidence.

R v S (Winchester Crown Court): Instructed to represent a client charged with importing 10kg of cocaine into the UK from Mexico.

R v L (Lewes Crown Court): L was charged with offences of serious violence and perverting the course of justice arising from an allegation that the client had been cuckooing and exploiting a vulnerable drug user. Following Christopher’s cross-examination of the complainant and eyewitness, the prosecution agreed to offer no evidence in respect of the perverting the course of justice offence and accepted a lesser plea to that charged on the indictment.

R v J (Woolwich Crown Court): Client unanimously acquitted of a sustained benefit fraud against the Department of Work and Pensions.

R v S (Bromley Youth Court): Represented a young person facing multiple charges of supplying Class A drugs. Christopher successfully advanced the defence under s.45 Modern Slavery Act 2015, and the client was acquitted of all charges after trial.

R v P (Maidstone Youth Court): Represented a university student of good character charged with assaulting his girlfriend on a night out. The assault was allegedly witnessed by several of the complainant’s friends. All the parties were under-18 and the case involved a variety of special measures. The client was unanimously acquitted.

R v L (Bexley Magistrates’ Court): Represented a university student of good character charged with bringing a combat knife to the O2 Arena. Christopher secured the client’s acquittal following the successful exclusion of the client’s interview under caution and comments made on arrest.

R v K (Woolwich Crown Court): Represented a prospective Oxford student charged with stealing over £12,000’s-worth of property from his employer. The case received coverage in the London press. 

Prosecution

Operation Tansu (Ipswich Crown Court): Instructed as a led junior in the prosecution of nine defendants who are accused of laundering over £3million in funds stolen from a solicitors’ client account.

Operation Obica (Snaresbrook Crown Court): Instructed as a led junior in the prosecution of three defendants charged with involvement in a sophisticated conspiracy to breach EU immigration law.

R v R (Isleworth Crown Court): Prosecuted an individual charged with attempting to kidnap a 3-year-old child from her mother in a busy high street. The case involved the consideration of the defence of insanity and extensive psychiatric evidence.

R v T (Southwark Crown Court): Prosecuted an individual charged with allegations of arson and criminal damage arising from the destruction of a room at a prestige Mayfair hotel. The case involved extensive and complex psychiatric evidence and was reported in the national press.

R v P & Ors (Lewes Crown Court): Prosecuted two defendants charged with a vigilante attack on a young man they believed to be a paedophile. 

R v H (Isleworth Crown Court): Prosecuted an individual who had defrauded a woman who he met on an online dating app out of tens of thousands of pounds. 

R v O (Aylesbury Crown Court): Prosecuted a prison officer who had seriously assaulted a colleague while on duty over a dispute regarding their duties..

R v C (Luton Crown Court): Prosecuted an individual charged with a campaign of stalking against his ex-partner which culminated in the defendant breaking into the complainant’s property and staging his own suicide.

London Borough of Haringey v D (Wood Green Crown Court): Prosecuted an individual who defrauded the local authority out of nearly £100,000 over a period of several years. The case involved covert surveillance evidence and a vast quantity of financial evidence.

London Borough of Haringey v M (Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court): Prosecuted an individual accused of benefit fraud. The fraud had been sustained over a period of 18 months and resulted in a loss of over £37,000. The defendant was convicted and committed to the Central Criminal Court for sentence, where a substantial custodial sentence was imposed. The case received local press coverage:

 https://www.enfieldindependent.co.uk/news/17887859.haringey-fraudster-takes-thousands-deceased-mother/

Fenland District Council v H and CL (Peterborough Magistrates’ Court): Prosecuted a company and its director for a string of commercial-scale fly-tipping offences committed over a 12-month period. Both defendants were convicted after trial, and the defendants were ordered to pay over £24,000 in fines, compensation and costs. The case received local press coverage: 

https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/local-news/businessman-prosecuted-flytipping-whittlesey-fenland-17166309

Courts Martial

R v W (Bulford Court Martial): Represented a sergeant charged with disgraceful conduct, arising from the sending of an unsolicited explicit photograph to a NATO colleague during a foreign peace-keeping mission. A plea to a lesser offence was successfully negotiated, and, following detailed mitigation, Christopher successfully persuaded the Board to draw back from dismissal, a reduction in rank, or a sentence of detention. A financial penalty was imposed, and the client was able to resume his career.  

R v R (Catterick Court Martial): Represented a client charged with two offences of supplying Class A drugs. The Sentencing Guidelines for such offences prescribe dismissal and imprisonment in all but the most exceptional of circumstances.  Following comprehensive and detailed mitigation, Christopher successfully persuaded the Board not to dismiss his client; a short period of detention at MCTC was imposed instead of imprisonment, and the client was able to resume his career.

R v A (Catterick Court Martial): Represented a client charged with three offences of criminal damage, arising from the destruction of £20,000’s-worth of civilian property on two separate occasions over a period of six months. Following comprehensive and detailed mitigation, Christopher successfully persuaded the Board not to dismiss his client, who was able to continue his career. 

Regulatory

F v Transport for London (City of London Magistrates’ Court): Represented a client in appellate proceedings against TfL concerning the interim suspension of the client’s private hire vehicle licence. TfL were persuaded not to resist the appeal after written representations were made highlighting the fact that TfL did not have any statutory power to impose an interim suspension, and that such a sanction was therefore unlawful.  

I v Security Industry Authority (Poole Magistrates’ Court): Represented a client in an appeal against the suspension of his licence following an allegation of rape made during the course of the client’s employment.

• Five Years of Section 45 Modern Slavery Act 2015: Where Are We Now? Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery: Victims Who Offend (together with Benjamin Douglas-Jones QC and James Marsland).
• R v Brecani, Journal of Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law (together with Benjamin Douglas-Jones QC)
• R v Wilkes [2022] EWCA Crim 525: Case analysis for LexisNexis (together with Benjamin Douglas-Jones KC)
• Co-author of a chapter in Human Rights in Criminal Law dealing with the interplay between Article 11 and the criminal law (together with Andrew Johnson). 

• CPS Advocates’ Panel: Grade 3
• Government Legal Department’s ‘Junior Junior’ Scheme
• Young Fraud Lawyers’ Association
• South-Eastern Circuit
• Bar Pro Bono Unit

Education

• 2016: Bar Professional Training Course, City Law School
• 2015: BA (Hons) Jurisprudence, Keble College, University of Oxford

Scholarships and Awards

• 2016: Inner Temple Princess Royal Scholarship
• 2015: Academic Scholar of Keble College, University of Oxford
• 2015: University of Oxford 7KBW Mooting Prize for Outstanding Advocacy

Other Interests

Outside of court, Christopher holds a black-belt in jiu-jitsu, and is a keen footballer, having played competitively for over 20 years.