Peter Ratliff > Chambers of Simon Denison KC > London, England > Barrister Profile

Peter Ratliff

020 3301 0910 peter.ratliff@6kbw.com View profile

Position

Peter is a highly regarded and sought after practitioner with a busy advisory and court practice. Peter specialises in complex casework, and investigations into business and corporate crime. He regularly advises multinational companies and company directors on matters arising from civil and criminal litigation. He has appeared for the Defence and Prosecution in many high profile criminal cases, and is ranked as a Leading Junior in Chambers and Partners and Legal 500.

Corporate Crime and Investigations

Peter has a breadth of experience of advising on corporate criminal matters.

Peter represented News UK in respect of investigations into phone hacking and corruption. He is currently instructed by a leading American law firm to represent a FTSE 100 listed corporate suspect in a high-profile SFO investigation.

Peter is currently instructed by the SFO to advise in respect of two major corporate investigations.

Peter has particular experience of advising and representing individual suspects and parties to SFO investigations pre-charge.

Peter has specific expertise in protecting the rights of companies to legal professional privilege, commercially sensitive, journalistic source and private data in circumstances where they are the subject of investigation. He has represented major UK Plcs in this regard. Peter represented a well-known firm of solicitors in resisting the execution of a warrant which purported to permit the Metropolitan Police to seize notes of conferences and proofs of evidence created between the solicitors and clients and witnesses.

Fraud

Peter has extensive experience defending allegations of fraud brought by the Serious Fraud Office, HMRC, the Department of Trade and Industry.

Peter recently secured the acquittal after trial of a defendant charged in respect of Operation Incubus, a significant investigation into tobacco smuggling. He secured the only acquittal of a defendant charged in respect of the DWP’s largest investigation into fraud on the benefits system.

Peter was instructed as sole Junior in respect of the SFO’s widespread and complex investigation into criminality at Torex Retail Plc, and advised as to corporate liability, the appropriate scope of the investigation and charges. Peter was led in the two subsequent trials which resulted in the conviction for offences of conspiracy to defraud of 5 of 6 company directors.

Peter was Junior Counsel for the Crown in the prosecution of the head of the UK’s policing project in Afghanistan for offences of conspiracy to fraud relating to the provision of equipment to the Afghan police force.

Peter has experience of cases involving the freezing of assets and forfeiture proceedings, and has acted for the Defence and Prosecution in many high value confiscation hearings.

Criminal Litigation

Peter has considerable experience in representing the Defence and Prosecution in high profile and serious cases.  He is currently a Junior Treasury Counsel.

He was instructed, together with Duncan Penny QC, by the Director of Public Prosecutions of  the Cayman Islands to prosecute the country’s first Premier for offences of misconduct in a public office.

In R v. Shilling and Others, Peter conducted the successful prosecution of defendants charged in respect of the largest importation of firearms into the United Kingdom.

In R v. Gomez-Remolina, Peter was junior in the prosecution of a brutal double-murder by an international jewel thief.

In R v. Ammber Rafiq Peter successfully defended a young woman charged with encouraging terrorism.

Peter advised the CPS in respect of the prosecution of suspects in respect of the investigation into the Hillsborough disaster.

Peter is currently instructed to prosecute a series of cases involving the hacking and blackmail of TalkTalk Plc and other corporate entities.

Other cases include the successful defences of a prison officer for offences of conspiracy to supply drugs, and of a well-known music producer accused of historic rape, false imprisonment, robbery and possession of a firearm. Peter prosecuted a member of  a proscribed extremist organisation for an assault on Baroness Warsi.  Peter was Junior Counsel for the Crown in the prosecution of a defendant for the murder of his wife for financial gain, and the prosecution of two men for the execution-style killing of another.

Peter was Junior for the Crown in the re-trial of Barry George, accused of the murder of the television presenter Jill Dando, and has defended the musician Peter Doherty for offences of drug possession arising from an investigation into the death of a young woman associated with him, dangerous driving and other offences.

Peter was instructed to represent the Blue musician Lee Ryan in respect of offences committed following Mr. Ryan’s appearance on the television programme “Celebrity Big Brother”.

Peter has experience of and interest in cases involving cybercrime. He has advised on the misuse of restricted computer systems, and has experience of using and presenting evidence relating to many of the commercial auditing systems used by complex and secure computer networks. His current caseload includes the criminal use of Bitcoins.

Career

• Junior Treasury Counsel
• Serious Fraud Office Panel of Counsel (List B)
• The Attorney General’s Panel of Approved Prosecutors
• Crown Prosecution Service (London) Grade 4

Memberships

Member of the Fraud Lawyers Association.

Education

University of Sheffield, 2.1, Law LLB (Hons).