Aneurin Brewer successfully stays prosecution as an abuse of process

Aneurin Brewer has successfully persuaded the Crown Court at Canterbury to stay proceedings against his client, Mr A, as an abuse of process on the basis that the exercise of the CPS’s discretion to continue the prosecution of a small boats pilot was irrational.

The case concerned an attempted crossing of the English Channel in October 2020 in which the evidence suggested the defendant had purchased the boat used and acted as the pilot. An application to dismiss was refused in 2021 and representations on charge following the defendant being granted leave to remain as a refugee were dismissed by the CPS in 2023.

However, in light of further delays in the proceedings the Court was persuaded that the CPS’s decision to persist with the prosecution had become irrational and as such an abuse of the Court’s process such that they should be stayed.

Aneurin is recognised as a leading authority on the defence of small boats pilots having successfully appeal a large number of convictions for the offence in cases such as R v Kakaei [2021] EWCA Crim 503, [2021] Crim. L. R. 1079, R v Bani [2021] EWCA Crim 1958, [2022] Crim. L. R. 507, R v Khodamoradi [2022] EWCA Crim 37, [2023] Crim. L. R. 359 and R v Bahadorie [2024] EWCA Crim 1778.

Aneurin was instructed throughout by Canel Halil of Emery Halil Brown.