Emma Gargitter
Call: 2003
“A top tier and very strong set which stables a great deal of talent that encompasses all areas of crime, fraud and regulatory work.”
Legal 500, 2022
Personal profile
Emma Gargitter practises in Crime, Regulatory & Professional Disciplinary and Public & Administrative Law.
She combines an eye for detail with hard work, seeking always to provide informed but practical advice to her clients, and has a particular interest in cases which straddle the criminal and public and administrative law spheres.
Emma began practising in 2005, and for the first five years concentrated almost exclusively on crime work. Those years allowed her to develop into a versatile advocate, with broad experience of prosecuting and defending before the criminal courts at all levels.
Since 2010 Emma has applied and expanded that experience in the fields of Public & Administrative Law and Regulatory & Professional Disciplinary. In particular Emma’s recent work has focussed on Judicial Review, medical regulation and related Inquests & Inquiries work. She also continues to accept instructions to act and advise in relation to a variety of criminal cases, with particular emphasis on the prosecution of terrorism offences. She is a member of the CPS specialist Counter Terrorism Panel (Level 3) and the General Crime, Serious Crime and Fraud panels (Level 2).
In 2014 Emma was appointed to the Attorney General’s Panel of Counsel (C Panel), allowing her to accept work from all government departments.
Emma also has particular expertise in the field of legal professional privilege. She has advised corporate clients in relation to their obligations to disclose material in the context of criminal proceedings, and acts as independent counsel advising law enforcement bodies in relation to the handling of privileged material seized during investigations.
Terrorism
Emma’s Crime practice is focussed on the prosecution and defence of serious and complex cases, in particular Terrorism matters. Her previous experience and attention to detail make her ideally suited to work on such high-profile cases. She is well-versed in all aspects of disclosure.
Emma is a member of the CPS specialist Counter Terrorism Panel (Level 3).
Featured cases
- R v B (ongoing) – Instructed by the CPS Counter Terrorism Division to prosecute offences of stirring up racial hatred and disseminating terrorist information via telegram.
- R v B (ongoing) – Instructed as led junior in a case involving allegations of making and possessing explosives.
- R v Brock (2021) – Successful prosecution of offences of possession of material likely to be of use to a terrorist (s58 TACT) involving an individual with a neo-Nazi mindset. [Press Report]
- R v QT (2021) – Prosecution of breach of a ‘TPIM’. [Press Report]
- R v QQ (2020) – Instructed by the CPS Counter Terrorism Division to prosecute the first case involving breach of a Temporary Exclusion Order, imposed based on suspicion of involvement in terrorist-related activity abroad.
- R v HM and FAA (2020 – ongoing) – Instructed by the CPS Counter Terrorism Division as junior prosecution counsel in a case involving allegations of the preparation of terrorist acts by the first defendant, and on the part of the second defendant a failure to report that preparation.
- R v JW (2018) – Instructed to prosecute an individual for stirring up racial hatred by posting far-right propaganda material on Facebook and other social media sites.
- R v Hassane and others (2015-16) – Instructed as second junior prosecution counsel in a trial of an IS-inspired plot to commit a terrorist murder or murders in London, using a firearm and ammunition. [Press Report]
- R v Ali and others, R v Girma and others (2007-2008) – Second junior counsel for the CPS Counter Terrorism Unit, led by Max Hill QC, in a series of trials arising from the attempted London bombings of 21st July 2005. Ten defendants were convicted of assisting an offender and failing to disclose information about the bombers. Emma also appeared as a junior in the Court of Appeal. [Press Report] [Report]
Fraud
Emma continues to accept instructions to act in relation to a variety of Fraud matters. She is on the CPS Serious Crime and Fraud panels (Level 2).
Featured cases
- R v SM (2017) – Successful prosecution of multiple counts of cheating the public revenue arising out of failures to declare capital gains on buy-to-let properties.
- Operation Hornet (2014-2016) – Instructed for a large financial institution to advise on issues of third party and common interest privilege in providing material to the CPS. [Press Report]
- R v B (2011) – Instructed to defend allegations of over £75k of benefit fraud. The trial involved detailed cross examination of the prosecution financial analyst.
Crime
Emma is an experienced jury advocate in cases involving violent offences. She is adept at questioning and cross-examining difficult witnesses in this context.
Featured cases
- R v C and others (2015-2016) – Successful defence of the first of five defendants for robbery and false imprisonment. The defendants were alleged to have tricked their way into the complainants’ home by posing as police officers, making off with cash and valuable jewellery.
- R v F (2012) – Successfully represented a defendant of good character charged with assaulting an acquaintance in a bar.
- R v K (2011) – Instructed to represent a defendant charged with committing a robbery during the London riots. Detailed pre-trial work led to the case being dropped prior to trial.
Professional Discipline
Emma has appeared in cases before the Nursing and Midwifery Council and the General Medical Council. She is familiar with the law and practice of regulatory tribunals and happy to accept instructions from professionals and regulatory bodies alike.
Emma also accepts instructions to represent professionals who find themselves designated ‘Interested Persons’ in inquests.
Featured cases
- NMC v ED (2019) – Represented a nurse facing disciplinary charges arising out of an allegation that she had assaulted a patient in her care. The proceedings involved successfully resisting applications to rely on hearsay from absent witnesses, and detailed cross examination of witnesses in person and via video link.
Inquests & Inquiries
Emma is an accomplished inquiry lawyer. She gained invaluable experience of all aspects of the law and practice of public inquiries during four years as junior counsel to the Al Sweady Inquiry between 2010 and 2014, and has continued to build on that experience with instructions to advise a prominent witness in receipt of a Maxwell letter from the Chilcott Inquiry, and more recently as junior counsel to the Undercover Policing Inquiry.
With her extensive understanding of inquisitorial proceedings Emma also welcomes instructions in relation to inquests, and has experience of advising medical professionals designated as interested persons.
Featured cases
- Undercover Policing Inquiry (ongoing) – Appointed as junior counsel to the Undercover Policing Inquiry.
- Chilcot Inquiry/Iraq War Inquiry (2015) – Appointed to advise a former member of the cabinet in connection with their response to a Maxwell letter (notification of intended criticism) issued by the inquiry prior to the publication of the report.
- Al Sweady Inquiry (2010-2014) – Appointed as junior counsel to the inquiry, which considered allegations of unlawful killing and mistreatment of individuals detained by the British Army in Iraq in 2004. She was involved in every step of the inquiry, including:
- advising on and carrying into effect the investigatory phase, including compliance with the procedural requirements of Articles 2&3 ECHR;
- advising on restriction orders including in relation to anonymity and other measures to protect the identity and/or personal information of witnesses;
- requesting and obtaining evidence, utilising rule 9 of the Inquiry Rules 2006 and section 21 of the Inquiries Act 2005 to issue written requests for statements and other evidence to potential witnesses;
- disclosure, including locating, obtaining and disclosing relevant material, including sensitive information;
- providing advice generally on the procedures of a public inquiry, balancing the need for transparency, fairness and due process with the requirement to avoid unnecessary cost;
- questioning witnesses during oral hearings;
- representing the inquiry responding to an application for judicial review; and
- report writing and the issuing of warning letters to those the subject of intended criticism.
- Inquest touching upon the death of KW (2019) – Appointed to represent a nurse in this inquest which considered in particular how a nursing home patient had died in circumstances where the accounts of some of those present at the time of death had changed over time.
- Inquest touching upon the death of Sally Hodkin (2018) – Appointed to represent a nurse designated an interested person during this inquest into the death of a woman stabbed by a patient who had absconded from a mental health unit. [Press Report]
Public & Administrative Law
Since 2014, as a member of the Attorney General’s C Panel, Emma has acted on behalf of the Home Office in relation to claims for Judicial Review of immigration decisions. Emma has experience both of advising and appearing in claims involving:
- unlawful detention
- challenges on Article 2 & 3 grounds
- challenges to decisions made pursuant to the Immigration Rules, including private and family life claims, and the points-based system
- challenges on Article 8 grounds.
Emma has also acted for the government in cases before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC).
Education
- MA (Hons), Law, Cambridge University
Professional appointments
- Attorney General’s Panel Counsel (C Panel)
- CPS Panel Advocate (Grade 2)
- CPS Specialist Panel Counsel – Counter Terrorism (Grade 3)
Memberships
- CBA
- ARDL
- Administrative Law Bar Association
- South Eastern Circuit
- Lincoln’s Inn
Languages
- Spanish (intermediate)
- Italian (intermediate)
- French (basic)