Pan Symeou and Alex Pierides, instructing Daniella Davenport of Garden Court Chambers, secured the acquittal of a defendant charged with s.18 and s.20 GBH, following a trial at Wood Green Crown Court. The Prosecution’s case, which relied on CCTV...
Pan Symeou and Alex Pierides, instructing Daniella Davenport of Garden Court Chambers, secured the acquittal of a defendant charged with s.18 and s.20 GBH, following a trial at Wood Green Crown Court.
The Prosecution’s case, which relied on CCTV evidence, was that the defendant attacked the complainant with a knife. The defence case, however, disputed that a knife was used and successfully argued that the defendant acted in lawful self-defence using keys from his pocket. Rather than the defendant being the aggressor, the defence case was that the complainant had racially abused the defendant, who acted to protect his family.
The acquittal followed Ms Davenport’s successful non-defendant bad character application, which showed that the complainant had a history of racial abuse, together with medical evidence showing the complainant was intoxicated at the time of the alleged offence.
Article from Garden Court Chambers here: https://gardencourtchambers.co.uk/daniella-davenport-secures-acquittal-in-gbh-trial-involving-cctv-footage-and-complex-bad-character-arguments/
August 2026
