Health & Safety

According to the independent legal directories, our  barristers offer “unrivalled expertise in Health & Safety and Crime”.

Reflecting previous awards and nominations for Health and Safety Set of the Year, Health and Safety Silk of the Year, and Health and Safety Junior of the year, 2BR barristers offer an outstanding combination of experience in the field of Health & Safety, together with a formidable reputation for first-class Criminal Advocacy. Their vast experience of cross-examination and jury advocacy give our barristers the skill set needed to secure the best possible outcome for clients in the health and safety arena.

How our Health & Safety Barristers Can Help You

2BR has real strength and depth in the field, with 11 members on the list of Specialist Regulatory Advocates authorised to prosecute for the Health and Safety Executive, the Environment Agency and the Office of Rail and Road and other government bodies.

Health & Safety Expertise

2BR’s Health and Safety barristers offer expertise across an ever-expanding range of sectors including the leisure, residential, retail, construction, manufacturing,  aviation, agricultural, real estate, hospitality, healthcare, education, transport, recycling, entertainment, tech, nuclear, oil and gas and off-shore industries.

Our specialist barristers advise employers, companies, company directors, individuals and public bodies including Local Authorities on all aspects of health & safety enforcement, and at every stage of proceedings including:

• Advice at an early stage of the investigation following a work-related death
• Response to investigation by HSE, Office for Rail and Road (ORR), Environment Agency (EA), Local Authority Environmental and Health & Safety enforcement, and Police, including the exercise of statutory powers under HSWA and invitations to be interviewed under caution
• Response to Notices of Contravention and Fee for Intervention (FFI), including appeals
• Response to Prohibition and Improvement Notices including written appeals and representation at the Employment Tribunal
• Appearance at inquest on behalf of interested parties
• Breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA) and associated Health & Safety Regulations
• Corporate and Gross Negligence Manslaughter cases concerning companies, director and manager criminal liability arising from health and safety breaches
• Representation at the Crown and Magistrates’ Courts; Summary and Jury Trials, Plea and Sentencing Hearings
• Appeals to the Court of Appeal and the High Court
• Enforcement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety Order) 2005 acting for companies, individuals and fire and rescue authorities, in respect of fire safety enforcement notices, appeals and prosecutions for breaches of fire safety.

Health & Safety Related Cases

The 2BR team have been involved in all the UK’s major Health & Safety cases for many years, acting for both the defence and prosecution, and for interested parties including:

• The Covid Inquiry
• The Grenfell Tower Inquiry
• The Tata Steel prosecutions
• The Hillsborough Inquests and subsequent Duckenfield Prosecutions
• The Lakanal Super-Inquest
• The Buncefield Disaster

Members of Chambers have similarly appeared in important authorities in the field as follows:

• HSE v Sellafield [2014] EWCA Crim 49: Pre-guideline authority for sentencing Very Large Organisations.
• R (ex parte Southwark Borough Council) v LFEPA [2016] EWHC 1701 (Admin): Impact of an inquest jury’s narrative conclusion on the approach to be taken in any subsequent prosecution.
• HSE v Bupa [2019] EWCA Crim 1691: Approach to sentencing subsidiary companies of Very Large Organisations.
• Millmore & Others v Environment Agency [2019] EWHC 443 (Admin): Approach to be taken to allegations of obstruction of regulatory powers.

For details of many other well-publicised cases undertaken by members of Chambers as well as the numerous individual directory endorsements, please consult their individual health and safety profiles here.

What the Directories Say

For many years 2BR has been ranked as a leading Health and Safety set in Chambers UK Bar and Legal 500 – the two leading independent guides to the Bar:

The barristers at 2BR are experienced in the prosecution and defence of corporate manslaughter and individual gross negligence manslaughter cases.

Members are instructed in matters arising in several different industry sectors, including hospitality, construction and transport, and are regularly called upon to act for and advise clients on cases involving the Regulatory Reform Act and complex prosecutions relating to breaches of fire safety.

The set’s enviable client list includes major corporations and their directors, as well as the HSE, the ORR, and fire and rescue authorities. Recent work included HSE v Chelmsford City Council, where the set successfully prosecuted a local authority after a fatality during a waste round.

One interviewee states: “It is a strong set of chambers with robust, reliable and very competent counsel, offering very efficient service.”

Chambers and Partners 2026

At 2BR, the health and safety offering includes advising on corporate manslaughter, gross negligence and fire safety cases.

Christine Agnew KC  ‘has a strong grasp of technical, expert evidence and is excellent in her cross-examination’.

 Jim Sturman KC is ‘a commanding courtroom presence with a rare ability to combine gravitas with clarity’, and is very highly regarded for his defence practice‘.

Legal 500 2026

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