Simon Spence KC

Practice Areas

Simon's practice is a mix of prosecution and defence work. In 2008 he was junior for the prosecution of Steve Wright, convicted of the murders of five Ipswich women. Since taking silk in 2009, Simon has specialised in homicide, together with some fraud, serious sexual offences and regulatory cases. High-profile cases include: the successful defence of a householder accused of murder and attempted murder of two intruders into his home; the defence of a 15-year-old boy charged with two stranger murders; prosecuting and defending in ‘county lines’ stabbings; a successful response to a CCRC reference against a murder conviction from 2003. The appeal was described by the court as “uniquely complex in terms of forensic evidence”. Simon has extensive experience of recent and historic sexual offence cases, particularly concerning young and vulnerable victims and witnesses, including prosecuting a large paedophile ring in Birmingham and two men accused of abusing boys at a school in the 1970s in Worcester. He has defended a number of regulatory and fraud cases, including a Trading Standards prosecution of an accountant acquitted of Conspiracy to Defraud and an ex-professional footballer accused of a very high value ForEx fraud.

He is a Door Tenant at Dere Street Chambers, York.

Career

Professional Appointments: Chairman of East Anglian Bar Mess 2010-2020; Chairman of Essex Bar Mess 2020-2023; Legal Assessor for the Disciplinary Committee of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons 2014-2020.

Professional Memberships

Criminal Bar Association; South Eastern Circuit; Northern Circuit; Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts.