Where Now for Deferred Prosecution Agreements: A Breakfast Briefing

On 16 September, the Business Crime and Fraud Team at Red Lion Chambers hosted a breakfast briefing bringing together leading defence and prosecution lawyers, and members of the Judiciary, to discuss the future of Deferred Prosecution Agreements at a time of significant change in corporate criminal liability and enforcement.  The event discussed:

• Whether DPAs have delivered justice as well as efficiency;
• Individual prosecutions following DPA proceedings;
• Whether the incentives for self-reporting and cooperation are working as intended, and whether corporate behaviour is changing as a result;
• Will the expansion of corporate criminal liability in other legislation increase the importance of DPAs or reduce the need for them;
• Will we see an increase in DPA activity in light of recent guidance from the SFO.

A distinguished panel, comprising Dame Victoria Sharp (President, King’s Bench Division), Matthew Wagstaff (Director of Legal, Serious Fraud Office) and Emily Agnoli (Partner, Simmons & Simmons), was chaired by Red Lion’s Cameron Brown KC, who acted in the £103m Amec Foster Wheeler DPA, and the £615m Entain DPA. Members of Red Lion have appeared in 9 of the 14 DPAs to come before the courts.

A note of the discussion can be found by clicking here:

Where Now for Deferred Prosecution Agreements – Red Lion Chambers Fraud Breakfast 16 Sept 2026