Chair of the Inquiry: The Right Honourable Lord Justice Haddon-Cave
The Rt Hon. Lord Justice (Sir Charles) Haddon-Cave studied law at Pembroke College, Cambridge (1974-77). He was called to the Bar of England & Wales at Gray’s Inn in 1978 and to the Bar of Hong Kong in 1980. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1999 and a Bencher at Gray’s Inn in 2004. He served as a Recorder of the Crown Court from 1997 to 2007.
He was appointed by Secretary of State for Defence in 2007 to conduct the Inquiry into the loss of the military aircraft RAF Nimrod aircraft XV230 in Afghanistan (2007-2009).
He was appointed one of Her Majesty’s Justices in October 2011, knighted and assigned to the Queen’s Bench Division. His further roles have included: Chair of Judicial College International (2013-2016); Presiding Judge on the Midland Circuit (2014-17); Judge-in-charge of the Terrorist List (2017-2018).
He was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal in 2018 and made a Privy Councillor. His further roles have included: Deputy Senior Presiding Judge for England & Wales (2020-2021); Senior Presiding Judge for England & Wales (2021- 2022).
Counsel to the Inquiry: Oliver Glasgow KC
Oliver Glasgow was called to the Bar in 1995 and was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2016. He was First Senior Treasury Counsel 2021- 2024, the leader of the team of specialist advocates, based at the Central Criminal Court, who prosecute the most serious and complex cases in the country.
In that role he has undertaken some of the most sensitive, difficult and high-profile criminal cases on behalf of prosecuting authorities and government departments. He has carried out a number of reviews into the operation of military justice.
He maintains a successful practice representing and advising individuals and corporations accused of wrongdoing.
Jonathan Polnay KC
Jonathan Polnay was called to the Bar in 2000. He has appeared in some of the most high-profile cases in the criminal courts, which include the recent prosecutions of the murder of Sir David Amess MP, John Worboys (‘the black cab rapist), the PC Harper trial and the trial concerning the manslaughter of 39 Vietnamese migrants. As Senior Treasury Counsel, he regularly provides advice to government departments on national security related issues.
He was appointed Kings Counsel in March 2024.
Kerry Broome
Kerry Broome was called to the Bar in 2003 and appointed Junior Treasury Counsel in 2020. She prosecutes and defends in the most serious criminal cases, the majority of which involve homicide offences. She advises government departments, has experience in Courts Martial and was junior prosecution counsel in the Shoreham Airshow Disaster trial.
Will Martin
Will Martin was called to the Bar in 2010 and appointed Junior Treasury Counsel monitoree in 2024. He defends and prosecutes serious crimes, white-collar crime and regulatory crime. He has particular experience in complex cases, including murder, bribery and high value fraud.
Legal Adviser to the Chair: Hanna van den Berg
Hanna van den Berg is an employed barrister and was called to the Bar in 2008. Hanna previously worked for the Government Legal Service from 2014-2020, providing legal advice to ministers and senior civil servants. In 2020 Hanna joined the Judicial Office, as the Legal and Policy Advisor on criminal law to the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. Hanna has a masters degree in International Human Rights Law.
Junior Counsel: Ruth Broadbent
Ruth Broadbent was called to the Bar in 2016. She manages a varied criminal practice, defending and prosecuting some of the most serious offences such as murder, armed robbery and modern slavery. She has previously been seconded to the International Corruption Unit of the National Crime Agency.
She has a particular interest in matters at the intersection of public and criminal law and has represented interested persons at inquests and acted as part of the legal team for a core participant to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.
Junior Counsel: Rosheen Iyer
Rosheen Iyer was called to the Bar in 2015. She prosecutes and defends all manner of complex criminal cases including, armed robbery, grievous bodily harm and serious sexual offences. She has also acted for companies and directors accused of Trading Standards offences and has acted as a junior Disclosure Review Counsel for the Serious Fraud Office. She frequently undertakes work representing vulnerable individuals and youths charged with the most serious offences.
Prior to coming to the criminal bar, Rosheen worked as a litigation paralegal at two leading criminal defence law firms, and was a qualified Police Station Representative.
Junior Counsel: Nadesh Karu
Nadesh Karu was called to the Bar in 2014. Since then, Nadesh has been involved in multiple Public Inquiries including the Undercover Policing Inquiry and the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. Nadesh’s practice has a particular emphasis on serious crime, including murder, terrorism, and high value fraud cases. Nadesh was also involved in reviewing the cases of convicted Sub-Postmasters after the Criminal Cases Review Commission referred them to the Court of Appeal.
Junior Counsel: Brad Lewis
Brad Lewis was called to the Bar in 2019. He defends, prosecutes and presents in sensitive, serious and complex criminal and regulatory proceedings. He has represented armed forces veterans with complex PTSD and has previously been instructed as part of preparations for criminal investigation and potential prosecutions linked to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.
His academic background includes reading for a master’s degree in Law, specialising in: the law of armed conflict, use of force, peacekeeping, the law of occupation and international criminal law.
Junior Counsel: Ralph Pickering
Ralph Pickering was called to the Bar in 2021. He has a varied practice focusing primarily on criminal law, professional discipline, inquests and public inquiries. He has represented individuals in relation to serious criminal offences including large-scale drug supply conspiracies and armed robbery. He has also provided advice to prosecuting bodies, including the Law Officer’s Department in Jersey, on matters ranging from large-scale drugs importation to serious sexual offences.
Ralph has an academic background in the politics, economics and international relations and is a fluent Russian speaker.
Junior Counsel: Cathryn Sutcliffe
Cathryn Sutcliffe was called to the Bar in 2015. She prosecutes and defends in serious criminal cases and has experience in the Courts Martial. Cathryn was instructed as part of the review team in respect of the Post Office ‘Horizon’ Appeals. Before being called to the bar Cathryn worked for the Attorney General’s Office on the Public Law and Litigation Team predominately advising the Law Officers on a wide range of matters.
In addition to the criminal work that Cathryn has undertaken, she has appeared as Junior Counsel in the Privy Council
Solicitor to the Inquiry: Piers Doggart
Piers Doggart is an employed barrister, called to the Bar in 1991. He is a legal director within the Eversheds Sutherland Inquiries and Investigations Team. Prior to joining Eversheds in March 2022, Piers worked within the litigation division of the Government Legal Department from 2004, as a senior civil servant and team leader since 2012. Piers was the Solicitor to the Undercover Policing Inquiry between 2015 and 2020.
Deputy Solicitor to the Inquiry: Jackie Omeni
Jackie Omeni qualified as a solicitor in 2004. She is a Principal Associate in the Public Inquiries and Investigations Team at Eversheds Sutherland International. Prior to her transition into the private sector Jackie spent more than 15 years at the Government Legal Department as a litigator and advisory lawyer and worked on a number of landmark and high-profile cases in the public and private law teams. Jackie has litigated in all courts in England and Wales from immigration and employment tribunals to the supreme court and has led on providing advice on tricky legal issues to senior government officials.
Jackie has extensive experience in the field of inquiries and her recent experience includes working as Senior Solicitor on the Undercover Policing Inquiry leading and advising on key projects and as a Lead Lawyer for a key Core Participant on the Covid Inquiry with responsibility for disclosure and drafting witness statements for senior government ministers
Assistant Solicitor to the Inquiry: Charlotte Butler
Charlotte Butler qualified as a solicitor in 2021. She is an Associate within the Inquiries and Investigations team at Eversheds Sutherland. Charlotte has significant experience working on both statutory and non-statutory inquiries including working as part of the team acting as Solicitors to the Angiolini Inquiry and acting on behalf of public body Core Participants in the Manchester Arena Inquiry, the Covid Inquiry and the Post Office Horizon Inquiry. She also has an inquests and investigations practice and has most recently worked as part of the team acting as Solicitors to the high-profile Article 2 Inquest touching upon the death of Sabina Rizvi. Her wider criminal regulatory experience includes both prosecution and criminal defence work and her advisory experience extends across the full spectrum of regulatory work.
Assistant Solicitor to the Inquiry: Rachel Jones
Rachel is an associate within the Eversheds Sutherland Inquiries and Investigations Team.
Rachel has worked on a variety of regulatory work including public inquiries, inquests, investigations and health and safety matters. Prior to qualifying as a solicitor, Rachel worked within the NHS as an allied health professional and also played a key role in the introduction of the Medical Examiner Service across Wales. Her recent experience involves her acting as part of the team advising a key core participant in the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry.
Assistant Solicitor to the Inquiry: Shaun Marshall
Shaun Marshall qualified as a solicitor in September 2023. He is an Associate within the Eversheds Sutherland Inquiries and Investigations team. Before joining the Inquiry, Shaun was part of the team acting as solicitors to the Angiolini Inquiry and was heavily involved in a disclosure exercise and the production of witness statements on behalf of a public sector client in the non-statutory Cranston Inquiry
Secretary to the Inquiry: Mark Newman
Mark is an experienced civil servant with a range of policy, operational delivery and programme management expertise. He is responsible for the administration of the Independent Inquiry and is the main point of contact for liaising with the sponsor department, the Ministry of Defence, on administrative and financial matters. He helps to ensure that the Inquiry’s work is independent from the Government.
Mark reports to the Chair and leads the Inquiry’s Secretariat to help support and integrate the wider team’s work to meet the Chair’s intent and deliver the Terms of Reference.