22/05/2026
Read morePark Square Barristers congratulates Ben Thomas on appointment as Deputy District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts)
Leeds
0113 245 9763Ranked in Tier 1 for Business and regulatory crime (including health and safety) – The Legal 500 (2026)
“Ben is very thorough and can get into the details of the case very quickly and effectively. He gives detailed but straightforward advice.” – Legal 500 2026
Ranked as a Leading Junior for Business and Regulatory Crime (Health & Safety) in Legal 500 (2024), a A-List Specialist Regulatory Advocate and Joint Head of Chambers Consumer Protection Team
Ben is a specialist Regulatory and Public Law Barrister who is often asked to advise early on in proceedings and has developed excellent relationships with those instructing. He has a nationwide practice. He is experienced in prosecuting and defending the full range of regulatory offences, related judicial reviews and inquests
Environmental
Ben is regularly instructed in prosecutions brought by the Environment Agency; and is often instructed to advise pre-charge. Instructions have included significant illegal waste sites, complex issues regarding prior insolvency, jurisdiction and the ownership of the site. He is often asked to advice those facing investigation regarding responses.
He has experience of advising on civil orders, relating to environmental risk, and been involved in several applications for Restriction Orders in relation to illegal waste sites.
Ben has a niche practice in cases investigated by the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under the Forestry Act 1967, and other similar enactments, and is often asked to advise on jurisdictional issues regarding such cases and in relation to the time limits for commencing proceedings. He was instructed in the first ever prosecution under The Heather and Grass etc Burning (England) Regulations 2021 in relation to unlicenced burning on deep peat, this case was widely reported in the national media.
Ben has been involved in several prosecutions relating to fishing law, both at sea and inshore and has a detailed knowledge of the legislation involved. These cases have been brought by the Marine Management Organisation, Inshore Fisheries Authorities, and the Environment Agency.
Health and Safety
Ben has significant experience of prosecuting and defending case brought by the Health and Safety Executive and Local Authorities under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and associated regulations.
Notable cases have involved prosecution of a construction company following an elderly householder falling through a hole in the floor, a building contractor who was convicted of health and safety breaches concerning a household extension which exposed the occupants to carbon monoxide poisoning, a prosecution of the owners of a hotel for injuries sustained by a guest while using the fitness facilities at the premises and the defence of an engineering company relating to works undertaken involving asbestos.
He recently successfully prosecuted a case where the Defendant was represented by Leading Counsel.
He is currently advising a local authority pre charge in relation to a significant incident resulting in several injuries and potential for significant harm to the public.
Food Hygiene and Abattoirs
Ben is regularly instructed in cases brought by the Food Standards Agency and Local Authorities in relation to breaches of food hygiene regulations. These have included prosecutions of abattoirs, takeaways, and cafes. They included a high-profile prosecution where an individual suffered a life-threatening reaction to a takeaway that contained peanut powder.
He also has experience on advising on Hygiene Improvement Notices and other ancillary orders.
He is regularly instructed in prosecutions for offences under The Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015 and appeared in Judicial Review proceedings regarding the power to prosecute such offences.
Local Authority
Ben is also regularly instructed by local authorities and other regulatory bodies to advise and represent in relation to all other areas of their work.
These include trading standards prosecutions, alcohol licencing appeals, taxi licencing appeals, abatement notices, closure orders, defective properties, tree preservation orders, fire enforcement notices and planning enforcement injunctions.
He also is instructed in proceedings brought by tenants against landlords under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, in respect of alleged statutory nuisances.