MARK SAVILL
Call 1993 Inner Temple
Call to the Bar of Northern Ireland 2006
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Public Inquiries
Court of Protection and Community Care Law
Introuction
Mark Savill is a widely experienced advocate specialising in criminal, regulatory, disciplinary and public inquiry work. His daily work is very much court and advocacy based.
He was educated at Eton College and Durham University before being called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1993. He was also called to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2006 and made a fee-paid judge of the First Tier Tribunal (Mental Health) in 2004. He was appointed to the Special Tribunal for the Lebanon’s list of defence advocates in 2010. In 2011 he was appointed as Lead Assistant Boundary Commissioner for the North West.
He has been consistently rated in ‘Chambers and Partners’ and ‘The Legal 500’ under the headings of both ‘Criminal’ and ‘Regulatory’ work. This is what these directories have written about his work:
2004 ‘stands out thanks to sparkling feed-back from his peers’
2005 ‘one of two juniors leading the way at Deans Court’
2006 ‘a lawyer fast becoming one of the first names you call in a crisis according to solicitors’
2007 ‘a highly rated junior’
2008 ‘displays maturity beyond his years’
2009 ‘a practitioner of undoubted merit’
2010 ‘a very smooth performer’
2011 ‘fearless and level headed’ and ‘very thorough and conscientious’
2012 ‘dedicated and hard working’
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Appointments
Junior of the Northern Circuit 1995
Hon. Secretary to the Northern Circuit 2002-2005
Attorney-General’s B Panel 2003 to present
Part-time Judge of the First Tier Tribunal (Mental Health) 2004 to present
List of Defence Counsel for The Special Tribunal for Lebanon
Lead Assistant Boundary Commissioner for the North West 2011
Education
Eton College and Durham University (BA)
Areas of Work
Mark both prosecutes and defends, predominately in the Crown courts of England and Wales with a mixture of defence and prosecution work, as well as in the Court of Appeal. He prosecutes and defends in health and safety and regulatory work, as well as appearing at inquests in the coroner’s court. He has been junior counsel, led by a Queen’s Counsel, in many serious and complex criminal cases, some lasting for many months.
His workload also covers the whole range of serious criminal offences including murder/manslaughter, sexual assaults, drug dealing conspiracies, road traffic fatalities, fraud, violence and financial confiscation. He also appears in road traffic and licensing matters in the magistrates’ courts.
He is a listed at the highest grade for prosecution work (‘Category Four’), as well as being a member of the Crown Prosecution Service’s list of serious criminal offence prosecutors, which deals with prosecutions of particular significance or sensitivity. He has been a member of the Attorney General’s criminal panel of advocates since 2003. This has enabled him to prosecute for a number of government departments, including the Departments for: Business, Innovation and Skills, Revenue and Customs, Work and Pensions and Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
He is also experienced in disciplinary cases, appearing before the General Medical Council’s Interim Order, Review, and Fitness to Practise panels. These involve the prosecution of doctors before their professional body for allegations of misconduct and impairment of their fitness to practice. He also represents serving prisoners at prison parole and adjudication hearings, which deal respectively with arguments for early release and prison disciplinary matters.
From 2005 to 2010 the Treasury Solicitor instructed him as First Junior Counsel to the Rosemary Nelson Inquiry. This Inquiry was set up by the British government to inquire into allegations of state collusion in the murder of the prominent solicitor Rosemary Nelson in Northern Ireland in 1999, and whether the subsequent investigation of her murder was conducted with due diligence
Throughout this time he was based in London, Belfast and Armagh and has undergone security vetting to the highest level. As a result Mark is accustomed to working within, as well as managing, a large team of lawyers, dealing with novel issues of law and procedure and marshalling and analysing very large quantities of both highly sensitive and non-sensitive material, including intelligence product arising from terrorist activities.
The Inquiry’s oral hearings lasted for 18 months and Mark was involved in questioning witnesses from a wide variety of backgrounds, including politicians, senior detectives, non-governmental organisations, ‘Special Branch’, the Security Services and army personnel, as well as alleged terrorists. He also worked closely with a team of retired English detectives reviewing and producing a report into what was the largest single murder investigation in Northern Ireland's history.
Mark also regularly sits as a part-time judge in the Mental Health Tribunal. He sits with a psychiatrist and lay member, hearing applications from mentally disordered individuals who wish to be released from compulsory detention under mental health legislation. He also conducts such cases as an advocate.
In 2010 he was interviewed and selected for inclusion on the list of defence counsel for the Special Tribunal for the Lebanon. As a result he underwent a training course in The Hague that same year. In 2011 he was appointed Lead Assistant Boundary commissioner for the North West. It is his responsibility to conduct public hearings across the region and prepare a report addressing the Boundary Commission’s proposals for redrawing electoral boundaries.
Finally, he regularly delivers seminars relating to advocacy skills and his areas of work either in his chambers or at solicitors’ offices.
Experience of Adversarial and Inquisitorial Systems
Mark is very experienced in advancing an individual’s case within the adversarial system and the common law jurisdiction having worked for many years as a barrister in England. However, the Rosemary Nelson Inquiry adopted an entirely inquisitorial, not adversarial, framework for its enquiries. Therefore, having been Junior Counsel to the Inquiry Mark is now also well used to working in a style and environment that seeks the truth on behalf of a number of interested parties, not just advancing a single case. He was also instrumental in setting up systems to obtain, collate and present very large quantities of documentary and oral evidence on behalf of the Inquiry.
Notable Cases
R v (BP) Smith [1997] QB 836 CA
Defence counsel in an authority on the misjoinder of offences on an indictment
R v A.M.and Others [1998] 1 WLR 363 CA
Defence counsel in a guideline authority, delivered by the Lord Chief Justice, for sentencing young offenders.
R v Roper and others 1998
Junior counsel for one defendant in the ‘Dillon Hull’ shooting in Bolton, when an eight-year-old child of a drug dealer was killed in weapons’ crossfire.
R v McAllister 2000
Defence counsel in a two-month long heroin supply, ‘arrest and caution policy’, voir dire. All evidence excluded under section 78 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.
R v Crompton and others 2000
Defence counsel in a Bolton stolen vehicle ‘car ringing’ case, involving corrupt police vehicle examiners. The prosecution dropped a two-month case on the day of trial after submissions on material non-disclosure.
R v Awan and others 2000
Junior counsel for the prosecution in a multi-million pound, Europe-wide, year-long Customs and Excise alcohol duty diversion fraud trial.
HSE (The Health and Safety Executive) v Deva Mills 2000
Defence counsel in a case concerning an explosion in a cereal factory, involving the near decapitation of an employee.
R v Coughlan and others 2001
Junior defence counsel in an inter-prison drug smuggling, ‘phone tapping’, case. Complex legal issues of admissibility surrounding recorded telephone conversations between prisoners.
Trading Standards v Bridgewater Boat Builders 2002
Defended Trading Standards’ prosecution of a long boat-building firm, alleged to have breached numerous regulations in constructing a boat, with the defence of ‘reasonable practicability’.
R v Villiers and others [2002] C.L.R. 421
Junior counsel for the Crown in an authority relating to the use and disclosure of participating informants in criminal offences.
R v Hanratty 2003
Defence counsel in the ‘race-hate’ bombing case of a Rochdale takeaway food restaurant.
R v Coughlan 2003
Defence counsel in a child abuse case, involving cigarette burns and other serious physical abuse.
R v McGrath 2003
Defence counsel in a multi-count, multi-victim historic rape and indecent assault case.
R v Bates 2003
Junior counsel for the defence in a multi-million pound stolen car engine number grinding operation, arising again out of corrupt Bolton police vehicle examiners.
R v Jennings and others 2003
Junior counsel for the prosecution in a multi-million pound cigarette importation conspiracy.
R v Billington and others 2003
Junior defence counsel in an exhaust stack explosion case, which lead to double corporate manslaughter charges.
M56 Motorway Multiple Fatality Crash 2003
Advised Britannia Hotels group regarding possible manslaughter charges following the crash of one of its airport shuttles on a motorway that lead to a number of deaths.
Fleetwood Sand Yachting Fatality 2003/2004
Advised a Local Authority regarding possible manslaughter charges and disclosure applications arising out of the death of a walker struck by a sand yacht.
HSE v Manchester County Fire Service 2004
Junior counsel for the fire service in a prosecution that followed the drowning of a fire fighter, who attempted to save a child from a lake.
R v Peacock 2004
Defence counsel in a case involving the gross neglect manslaughter of a heroin addict.
R v Hough and others 2004
Defence counsel in a Bolton/Manchester United football riot case.
HSE v Matthews and others 2004
Counsel for the head of a diving school, charged with Health and Safety offences, following a diving fatality.
HSE v Barrow Council 2004
Junior counsel for the council following a large-scale Legionnaire’s disease outbreak in the town of Barrow. This was a multiple manslaughter prosecution involving the legal issue as to whether a local authority could be criminally liable for such an offence.
HSE v The University of Salford 2006
Counsel for the University in respect of charges arising from a staff member being impaled on a car park barrier.
HSE v TSE(UK) 2010
Prosecution counsel in a fatal work place crushing accident case.
HSE v Brown 2010
Defence counsel in a building works asbestos exposure incident.
R v Pattinson 2010
Defence counsel in a month-long, causing death by dangerous driving trial, involving complex expert evidence and numerous child witnesses.
GMC v A 2010
Prosecuting counsel in the case of a doctor who had downloaded child pornography.
GMC v B 2010
Prosecuting a doctor who had acted improperly during an employment dispute at the hospital at which he was clinical director.
HSE v Warrington Borough Council 2011
Defence counsel for the local authority charged with health and safety offences following an explosion in a science lesson.
R v Steele 2011
Defence counsel for the driver of a refuse lorry charged with causing death by careless driving.
R v Young 2010
Defence counsel for a dentist who had indecently assaulted his wife.
HSE v Ken Brogden Ltd 2011
Defence counsel for a scaffolding manufacturing company charged following the death of a steeplejack. Successful pro bono sentence appeal to the Court of Appeal.
HSE v MPB Ltd and Wates Construction Ltd 2011
Prosecuting a QC and junior in large-scale scaffolding collapse incident at John Moores University.
R v Bennett 2011
Defence counsel in a case of two-defendant drug/date rape.
R v Hussain 2011
Defence counsel in arranged marriage rape and domestic violence trial.
Other Activities
In addition to his day-to-day workload, Mark has been substantially involved with activities of the Bar Council of England and Wales. He was elected as a member in 1997 and spent five years as a member of the Young Barristers’ Committee. Between 2000 and 2007 he was a member of the Remuneration Committee.
He was Junior of the Northern Circuit of the Bar in 1995 and its Honorary Secretary between 2003-2005. As well as being a member of the Circuit’s Pupillage Monitoring Committee for trainee barristers, he is a qualified advocacy trainer and has trained two pupils himself. He has also sat on his Inn of Court’s (the Inner Temple) financial awards interview panel. Between 1999 and 2005 he taught ‘Professional Conduct’ on Manchester Metropolitan University’s Bar Vocational Course.
Personal
Mark lives in Cheshire, UK with his wife, son and daughter. He enjoys golf, Bikram yoga and cooking, as well as watching all sports.