Robert Stevenson

Year of call:

2003

Education:

2001 - University of Leicester, LLB (2:1)

2003 - Nottingham Law School, BVC (‘very competent’)

Career:

2003 - Pupil and then tenant at Sovereign Chambers

2011 - CPS Level 3 Prosecutor

2015 - Sovereign Chambers becomes Park Square Barristers

2018 - CPS Grade 4 Prosecutor

Appointments:

2008 - Appointed to the Attorney-General’s List of Advocates

2011 - FA-registered lawyer

2012 - Specialist regulatory advocate for health & safety and environmental law

2018 - CPS Grade 4 Prosecutor

2019 - List A of the Panel of Specialist Regulatory Advocates

RASSO Panel

Memberships:

North Eastern Circuit

Awards:

2017 - Certificate of Commendation, Immigration Enforcement

Ranked Chambers and Partners (2024) and Tier 1 for Crime – The Legal 500 (2024)

Robert is a very busy and well-respected criminal practitioner who prosecutes and defends in equal measure, dealing with serious and complex cases.

“Robert goes above and beyond.” – Chambers and Partners (2024)

He is able to identify and focus on the important issues in a case so that his legal and jury submissions are precise and persuasive. A definite future silk. ’ – The Legal 500 (2023)

“He is friendly and approachable but tough when he needs to be.” – The Legal 500 (2021)

“An outstanding advocate with fantastic cross-examination skills.” – The Legal 500 (2020)

“Charismatic, astute and approachable” – The Legal 500 (2019)

“Quick-witted, methodical and conscientious.” – The Legal 500 (2017)

“Not easily fazed, and able to deal with the most complex and sensitive cases in a calm and considered manner.” – The Legal 500 (2016)

He is an experienced and accomplished advocate, regularly instructed in cases of serious violence and organised crime including firearms, drugs, money laundering and people trafficking.

He is an approved Fraud and RASSO prosecutor whose caseload includes large-scale financial crime, rape and other serious sexual offences.

He is regularly instructed in multi-handed cases and is known for his calm, sensible and thorough approach.

Robert regularly deals with sensitive issues of disclosure and public-interest immunity, including surveillance, informants, and intercept material.

Robert recently received a commendation from the Home Office for ‘Excellent investigative work, demonstrating tenacity under extreme pressure to find the evidence to convict those found to have abused the immigration system’.

He has prosecuted and defended in cases which have included evidence obtained from abroad and has argued jurisdictional issues, including the admissibility of such evidence and whether the case was properly prosecutable in the UK.

Robert has sound judgment and is known for his honest and straightforward advice.  He is a robust and effective advocate with a pleasant manner.

He regularly acts for companies and individuals on a private-fee basis in both criminal and regulatory cases, in particular health & safety, road traffic and environmental cases.

Notable cases:

  • Regina v L and others: four-handed, high-profile murder case involving the execution of a police informant.
  • Regina v W and others: four-handed, conspiracy to murder, conspiracy to commit arson and conspiracy to produce cannabis.
  • Regina v W and others: eleven-handed violent disorder and s.18 trial.
  • Regina v RH and others: six-handed conspiracy to possess explosives and firearms, conspiracy to defraud, and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
  • Operation Raptor1/Howse: six-handed conspiracy to defraud trial involving elderly victims who were conned into handing over their life savings by defendants posing as police officers or bank employees.  The total value of the frauds was many hundreds of thousands of pounds.
  • Operation Raptor2/Solitude: nine-handed conspiracy to defraud trial involving elderly victims being conned in a similar manner to those in Operation Raptor 1 (above).
  • Operation Peakgill: four-handed firearms trial involving applications to dismiss, lengthy telephone and cell-site reports and arguments of admissibility.
  • Operation Apple: four-handed trial in relation to a conspiracy to defraud the UK Immigration Service.  Voluminous paper and telephone records demonstrating an abuse of the immigration system on a huge scale over many years.
  • Operation Raceway: three-handed drugs and money laundering conspiracy trial involving voluminous telephone reports, legal arguments, and Proceeds of Crime Applications.
  • Regina -v- JS: trial involving a defendant who stole £300,000 from a 102-year-old victim for whom the defendant was supposed to be providing care.  The defendant also created, and sought to rely upon, a fake Will in order to obtain the rest of the victim’s possessions after her death.
  • Operation Destiny: Eight-handed drugs conspiracy trial involving complex telephone evidence linking a very large amount of drug offences in North Yorkshire.
  • Regina -v- M: multi-complainant trial of a defendant accused of historic, serious sexual offences committed upon school pupils and other young people.
  • Regina -v- R: defendant charged with two counts of stranger rape and trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence.
  • Operation Gascony: four-handed trial involving conspiracies to supply drugs and launder hundreds of thousands of pounds. The evidence included a large amount of business documents, telephone/banking records, and expert MASSPEC evidence about cash contaminated with drugs.
  • Regina -v- S: defendant charged with violent rape upon his partner.  The case involved expert reports for the prosecution and defence in relation to forensic evidence obtained from the complainant and the potential date upon which it could have been transferred.
  • Regina -v- E: defendant charged with rape, involving issues of drunken consent and a denial that penetration actually occurred.  The case also involved an expert report to deal with the forensic findings.
  • Regina -v- S: Multi-handed trial involving an allegation of violent rape of a prostitute, including issues of consent, cross-admissibility of evidence between defendants and issues of joint enterprise, not all defendants having been involved in the alleged sex act.
  • Regina -v- H: defendant charged with inciting sexual activity with a girl under 13 and assault by penetration
  • Regina -v- J: defendant charged with rape and assault by penetration of 14-year-old daughter, involving significant arguments of PII/Disclosure relating to school and social services records.
  • NYTS v B & M Retail Limited: defendant with a multi-billion-pound turnover, charged with manufacturing and importing defective glideboards, contrary to the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008.
  • Regina v C and others: large-scale building-services fraud upon homeowners in North Yorkshire.
  • Regina v H and others: five-handed conspiracy to commit a £300k advance-fee fraud involving evidence obtained from Dubai, Iran, Hungary and other countries.
  • Regina v M and others: Large-scale conspiracy involving the importation of Class-A drugs from Brazil.
  • Regina v B and others: ten-handed, £2million MOT fraud.
  • Regina v H and others: Film, music and video-game piracy; the overall fraud being worth over £4million to the media industry.
  • Regina v R: Multiple-staged-accidents case with a proceeds-of-crime application to the value of £3/4m.
  • R v Soar: Court of Appeal case, sentencing elderly man convicted of two counts of arson endangering life.
  • R v H and others: five-handed conspiracy to commit arson in which the defendants arranged to burn down a taxi office for the purpose of a fraudulent insurance claim; their hired arsonist died in the fire.
  • R v Walton: Court of Appeal, successfully arguing that the appellant’s DNA, which was found on an item taken to the scene of a burglary, was insufficient evidence to convict.  His conviction was quashed.
  • R v Richardson: Court of Appeal, 26 defendants in an Attorney General’s Reference involving a large drugs operation, successfully arguing that the respondent’s sentence was not unduly lenient.

Contact Robert’s clerks

Andrew Thornton on 0113 213 5202

Gina Hawkins on 0113 213 5205

Rebecca Wilson on 0113 213 5203

Hannah Dempsey on 0113 213 5211

Lucy Finney on 0113 213 5220

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