Paul Greaney KC > New Park Court Chambers > Newcastle upon Tyne, England > Barrister Profile

Paul Greaney KC

+44 (0)113 203 5504 clerks@newparkcourt.co.uk

Work Department

Crime, Regulatory, Civil

Position

Paul Greaney KC specialises in serious crime, public inquiries and inquests, regulatory crime and professional discipline. For many years he has been recommended in the leading professional directories.  In Chambers & Partners 2024, he was recommended in four practice areas: inquests and public inquiries; crime (star individual); financial crime and health and safety.

Scope of Practice

• Public Inquiries (eg. Counsel to the Inquiry at the Manchester Arena Inquiry; counsel to a corporate core participant at the Grenfell Inquiry; counsel to a senior lawyer core participant at the Independent inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse; counsel for the Royal Military Police at the Independent Inquiry Relating to Afghanistan; advising a large corporate organisation in relation to the COVID inquiry);
• Inquests (eg. counsel for a prominent institutional client at the Hillsborough Inquests; counsel for the family at the Deepcut Inquest; counsel for the family in the Jack Ritchie Inquest (state regulation of the gambling sector); counsel for Manx Care and the DHSC (Isle of Man) in a current inquest; counsel for NHSE in a recent inquest);
• Serious crime,including financial crime and crime with an international dimension;
• Regulatory crime, with an emphasis on the healthcare sector; health and safety enforcement; data protection; trading standards issues; environmental health and prosecutions arising out of planning disputes;
• Disciplinary proceedings, including proceedings before professional sporting bodies, (eg. acted in the Football Association proceedings in the Suarez/Evra racist abuse case and the Anelka “quenelle” case);
• Warrants and production orders (regularly instructed on behalf of companies and prominent individuals in challenges, eg. acted on behalf of a media organisation on such issues arising out of the phone hacking investigation).
• Public law, particularly claims relating to inquiries and inquests and the criminal justice system.

Public Inquiries & Inquests

Current instructions include acting as Counsel (CTI) to the Omagh Bombing Inquiry, acting as leading counsel for the Royal Military Police at the Independent Inquiry Relating to Afghanistan, acting as leading counsel to a corporate core participant at the Grenfell Tower Inquiry and advising a large corporate organisation in relation to the COVID Inquiry and the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry. Concluded instructions include acting as Counsel (CTI) to the Manchester Arena Inquiry and acting as leading counsel for a senior lawyer core participant at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

In the world of Inquests, Paul acted as leading counsel for a prominent institutional client at the Hillsborough Inquests, as leading counsel for the family at the Deepcut Inquest, as leading counsel for the family in the Jack Ritchie Inquest (state regulation of the gambling sector) and as leading counsel for Manx Care and the DHSC at a recent inquest on the Isle of Man.

Serious Crime

Paul continues to maintain a major profile in serious crime and has prosecuted and defended in many cases of national importance.

• R v Joseph Peers and others [2023]. Prosecution of the murderers of Ashley Dale, an innocent young woman executed in her own home in Liverpool with a machine gun as the result of a gangland feud.
• Embossed II [2022 – 2023]. Defence of the First Defendant in a major case in which the admissibility of Encrochat data was challenged.
• R. v D Ltd. [2022]. Defence of company director charged with manslaughter by gross negligence arising out of a workplace death.

Regulatory Crime

Paul has been involved in many serious and complicated regulatory prosecutions, including cases involving multiple fatalities and complex issues of law and cases involving the risk of significant reputational damage. That has involved defending large private and public bodies and individuals facing allegations.

He has particular experience of prosecutions in the healthcare sector (having represented many large private organisations and NHS Trusts in such cases), the workplace sector (having represented large companies and also individual directors) and the data protection context (having represented an international company in a prosecution brought by the ICO).

Disciplinary Proceedings

Paul represented the Football Association in the proceedings brought against Luis Suarez, the Liverpool player in respect of his racial abuse of Patrice Evra, the Manchester United player [2011], in the proceedings brought against Everton FC in respect of the tapping up of Jamaal Lascelles [2013] and in the proceedings brought against Nicolas Anelka in respect of his use of the quenelle gesture [2014] and Benoit Assou-Ekotto for tweeting his support for Anelka’s gesture [2014]. He has more than 20 years’ experience in representing police officers in misconduct proceedings and has also conducted proceedings in the GMC and SRA.

Licensing

Paul deals with all forms of licensable activity.

Warrants & Production Orders

Paul has been instructed on behalf of companies and prominent individuals in challenges. For example, he acted on behalf of a major media organisation on such issues arising out of the phone hacking investigation.

Public Law

Particularly claims relating to the criminal justice system, police law and coronial law.

International

Paul has conducted cases in Fiji, including in the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Fiji as a temporary member of the Bar of Fiji.

He acted on behalf of the former director of a major international company in corruption proceedings in Greece and was admitted to the Bar of Athens for that purpose.

He acted on behalf of Manx Care and the DHSC in proceedings in the Isle of Man for which purposes he was granted a temporary advocates licence.

Memberships

• 2020 Silk of the Year, Regional Bar (Legal 500)
• 2016 – 2022 Recorder (ticketed to try sex cases)
• 2016 Bencher – Inner Temple
• 2012 – 2022 Head of the Criminal Team at NPCC
• 2012 – 2020 Director of Advocacy Training for the North Eastern Circuit
• 2010 Queen’s Counsel
• 2009 Criminal Junior of the Year (Chambers & Partners)
• 2002 Attorney General’s Panel of Advocates (Crime)