Career Overview
Prior to qualifying as a barrister, Tomas worked as a paralegal for a leading firm of Criminal Defence solicitors in London, where he qualified as a Police Station Accredited Representative and gained a broad experience of Criminal Proceedings, from arrest and interview, right through to trial. He has been on his feet as a barrister since 2007.
Areas of Expertise
General Crime
Tomas has a busy practice defending individuals facing serious criminal allegations.
Recent cases as a junior alone have included serious violence, rape and sexual assaults, ‘county lines’ drugs conspiracies, gang stabbings, and the possession of firearms with intent to endanger life.
As led junior counsel, he has assisted King’s Counsel defending allegations of murder, and as junior counsel alone he has represented individuals charged with terrorism related offences, robbery, and violent disorder before the Central Criminal Court. He has a particular interest in the area of Firearms Law.
Appellate Work
Tomas regularly advises on appeal against conviction and sentence. He has had success in having permission granted by the Full Court in cases where the Single Judge initially refused permission to appeal.
Court Martial Work
Tomas has defended cases in Germany, Portsmouth and the Catterick Garrison and, having served for ten years in a Cavalry unit in the Reserve Defence Forces in Ireland, he has a particular interest in Services related work. Prior to qualifying as a barrister, he worked as a paralegal assisting in the first war crimes trial held in the United Kingdom at the Salisbury Court Martial Centre.
Road Traffic Offences
Tomas regularly defends road traffic offences such as:
- Failing to respond to Section 172 Notices of intended Prosecution.
- Failing to name other drivers in the event of Prosecution.
- ‘Totting’ offences, where defendants fall to be disqualified by virtue of accruing points on their licence.
- ‘In Charge’ and ‘Driving whilst Unfit’ offences.
- Failing to provide evidential samples.
- Driving whilst Disqualified, Driving without Due Care, and Dangerous Driving.
He is particularly experienced in arguing ‘special reasons’ and ‘exceptional hardship’ to prevent the disqualification of drivers, or to minimise the length of time that drivers are disqualified for. In the event of disqualification or any adverse finding by the Court he is happy to provide clear and frank advice on the merit or grounds of any appeal.
Notable Cases
Current Instructions
R v Y and Others – November 2024, Central Criminal Court
Led Junior – Murder
R v LS and Others – October 2024, Winchester Crown Court
Led Junior – Conspiracy to Import Class A Drugs involving ‘Encrochat’ evidence
Notable Cases
R v K and Others – May 2024, Ipswich Crown Court
Junior Alone – Multi Million Pound Conspiracy to Conceal/Transfer Criminal Property
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/five-men-found-not-guilty-100000486.html
R v T and Others – May 2024, Central Criminal Court
Junior alone - Violent Disorder
R v M and Others – November 2023, Luton Crown Court
Led by KC - Murder
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-67340397
R v W – November 2023, Winchester Crown Court
Junior Alone – Supply of Drugs into Prison
R v U and Others – October 2023, Basildon Crown Court
Led by KC – Attempted Murder
R v V and Others – September 2023, Cardiff Crown Court
Leading Junior (leading Jack Jennet, Farringdon Chambers) – Conspiracy to Produce Cannabis
R v A and Others – August 2023, Manchester Crown Court (Crown Square)
Junior alone – Conspiracy to Possess a Firearm with Intent to Endanger Life
R v M – April 2023, Woolwich Crown Court
Junior alone (pre acceptance of plea) - Murder
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-66119213
R v M – May 2022, Central Criminal Court
Led by Karl Volz (Farringdon Chambers) – Attempted Murder
https://www.mylondon.news/news/east-london-news/woman-pushed-ex-boyfriend-out-24041132
R v Y – January 2022, Southwark Crown Court
Led Junior – Fraud
R v M and Others – September 2021, Central Criminal Court
Led by Ian Henderson KC - Murder
R v B – January 2021, Luton Crown Court
Led Junior – Double Murder
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-55558902
R v Y and others– November 2020, Central Criminal Court
Junior alone – Inciting Terrorism
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-55044652
R v M and Others – July 2019, Central Criminal Court
Led by Ian Henderson KC - Murder
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-49077123
R v I and Others – August 2018, Woolwich Crown Court
Junior alone – Importation of in excess of five hundred kilos of Class A from Colombia, via private jet
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-45122624
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/aug/23/farnborough-airport-cocaine-smugglers-found-guilty
R v J and others – 2018, Isleworth Crown Court
Junior alone – Gang attack/Stabbing
http://www.itv.com/news/2018-06-07/what-is-drill-music-and-why-is-it-linked-to-violent-crime/
R v M - August 2017, Central Criminal Court
Led by KC - Murder ‘The Classic FM Killer’
The Defendant killed a defenceless man, then fled the UK to Italy where he was subsequently convicted of a second murder and another attempted murder in similar circumstances. The case attracted widespread national media coverage due to the accidental discovery of CCTV footage on a laptop which revealed the commission of the offence.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-41399617
https://www.itv.com/watch/the-truth-about-my-murder/10a3805/10a3805a0007
R v M and Others – May- July 2017, St Albans Crown Court
Led Junior - Importation of Firearms
The Defendant was charged with conspiring with others to import firearms to the UK from Holland. After a ten-week trial the Defendant was acquitted. The leader of the gang received a sentence of Life Imprisonment with a minimum tariff of 22 years.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-40964995
R v M and J - 2017, Central Criminal Court
Junior Alone - Incitement to commit terrorist acts
The Defendant was alleged to have incited terrorist acts via twitter. He and another person were suspected supporters of Daesh and had been stopped whilst travelling to Europe. On examination of electronic devices, material recovered indicated support for Islamic extremism. The Crown accepted pleas to the lesser offence of reckless, rather than intentional incitement.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-39089534
R v R and others – 2016, Chelmsford Crown Court
Led Junior – Rape, Grooming
The Defendant was first on an indictment with six co-defendants. Tomas was instructed as led junior in a ten-week trial alleging historic allegations of sexual grooming and drug supply by a gang of men.
R v P and others – 2016, Chelmsford Crown Court
Junior Alone – Kidnapping
The Defendant was accused with five others of kidnapping two people and their children. The Defendant was acquitted, unanimously, after a four- week trial.
https://www.getreading.co.uk/news/reading-berkshire-news/reading-kidnap-trial-jailed-drug-9814382
R v M and others – 2015, Reading Crown Court
Junior Alone - Supply of Class B Drugs
It was alleged that the Defendant was concerned in the cultivation and supply of cannabis. After an eleven-day trial and closing speeches, the Defendant was the first person to have verdicts of Not Guilty returned against him, whilst two others were convicted.
R v W – 2012, Kingston Crown Court
Junior Alone – Robbery
R v R – 2012, Canterbury Crown Court
Junior Alone - Importation of Cannabis
The Defendant, a truck driver, was arrested at Dover Ferry Port. Thirty six kilos of cannabis were found secreted in his truck. He denied knowledge of the drugs stating that he believed the packages contained tobacco. The Defendant was an ex soldier employed by a firm in Northern Ireland. After the provision of tachograph evidence to support his account in interview, and extensive disclosure requests by the Defence, the Crown offered no evidence on the drugs offence and accepted a plea by the Defendant to the fraudulent evasion of duty on the tobacco that was recovered from his truck and received a suspended sentence.
R v A – 2012, Inner London Crown Court
Junior Alone - Extreme Pornography
The Defendant pleaded guilty on an earlier occasion to a separate offence involving the possession of indecent images of children. The Defendant denied viewing images of extreme pornography and asserted that he was not aware they were on his computer. After the service of an expert report on the CPS the Prosecution accepted that it could not prove to the requisite standard that the Defendant viewed or possessed these images and that such images could have been ‘cached’ by the Defendants computer browser without his knowledge. The Crown offered no evidence, and the case was dropped.
R v J and others – 2011, Croydon Crown Court
Junior Alone - Conspiracy to Kidnap, False Imprisonment
The Defendant was seventeen years old and faced allegations of kidnap, false imprisonment, and assault. He was arrested with six others after police raided a house and found a fifteen-year-old boy tied to a chair in a cupboard, with wounds inflicted on him. The case involved extensive cell site evidence and the instruction of a defence expert to show that the Defendant was not in the vicinity at the time the victim had been picked up at that location
R v J - 2010, Court of Appeal
Junior Alone - Robbery
Appeal against sentence. The Appellant was acquitted of murder but convicted of robbery and sentenced with a co-defendant (who was convicted of murder) to ten years imprisonment. On appeal the sentence was reduced to seven years.
R v S – 2010, Court of Appeal
Junior Alone - Fraud, False Representation
The Defendant pleaded guilty to series of counts alleging fraud and was sentenced four and a half years in custody. The solicitor felt that an appeal was unlikely to succeed but Tomas advised that an appeal against sentence had merits. Having considered the written submissions on appeal, the Court indicated that it would reduce the sentence to three years without need for oral argument.
R v J – 2009, Central Criminal Court
Led by QC – Murder
The Defendant was acquitted of murder committed during the course of a drug deal in South London.
https://courtnewsuk.co.uk/josephs-robber-jailed-for-stealing-cannabis-from-murder-victim/
R v P and S –2009, Central Criminal Court
Led by KC – Murder
An eighteen-year old and his co-defendant was accused of the double murder of a sixteen year old girl and her fifty seven year old grandmother by way of arson at a flat in East London.
R v P – 2009, Inner London Crown Court
Junior Alone - Assault
It was alleged that the Defendant assaulted the victim while she was asleep. The defence accepted that an assault had taken place but disputed the mental element of the offence. The Defendant had been taking anti-depressants which caused him to feel strange impulses. His only recollection of the incident was a feeling of ‘floating on the ceiling, observing everything below.’ After extensive research into the side effects of this drug, and the instruction of an expert by the Defence, the Crown decided not to proceed against the Defendant and the matter was dealt with by way of a bind over.
R v C – 2009, Canterbury Crown Court
Junior Alone - Possession of False ID with Intent
The Defendant was travelling to Algeria with his family. He was stopped at Dover controls and was found to have a false British driving licence in his possession, as well as his French licence which entitled him to drive in the UK. His account was that he intended to use the false licence in Algeria only. The Defendant contested the matter at trial, despite an indication by the Court at an earlier hearing that there may not have a defence in law. At trial, after submissions of ‘No Case to Answer’ on the issue of jurisdiction, the Learned Judge withdrew the case from the jury and a verdict of Not Guilty was entered.
R v W and Others – 2009, Maidstone Crown Court
Led Junior - Rape, Sexual Assault
The Defendant was charged with rape and sexual assault against family members, dating back to the 1980’s and 1990’s. The case involved complex issues of double jeopardy, as verdicts of not guilty were entered by a previous court in the late 1990’s when similar offences had been alleged.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/kent/7838894.stm
R v K – 2008, Court of Appeal
Junior Alone - Section 18 GBH
The Defendant was a serving prisoner, having been convicted of causing grievous bodily harm. Tomas was not instructed at trial but advised after sentence pro bono citing ‘fresh evidence’ as a basis to appeal the conviction. Although the Single Judge refused leave to appeal, Tomas renewed the application and went to a full hearing where leave to appeal was granted by the Court.
Education
- University of Wales, Aberystwyth - Bsc Econ, International Politics and Strategic Studies (2001)
- University of Wales, Aberystwyth - LLB (2003)
- Cardiff University - Bar Vocational Course (2005)
Other Information
Professional Memberships
- Lincoln's Inn
- Criminal Bar Association
