Kevin Baumber

Expertise & Experience

Kevin leads and appears alone, in misconduct tribunals, PAT’s, Coroner’s Court, the Magistrates’ Court, Crown Court, High Court, and the Court of Appeal. A former Assistant Coroner, he has acted in some of the most sensitive and high-profile Article 2 inquests and deaths in custody of recent years. He is also instructed in nationally significant judicial reviews reshaping police regulation, as well as serious crime, corruption, firearms, sexual offences, and large-scale fraud.

Examples of his work on recent pivotal cases touching upon important points of law include: Philpot, Victor, Quirke, Di Maria, Watson, Rigg, Rizvi and the Fishmongers Hall terror attack inquest.

Kevin is ranked as a leading practitioner in Chambers UK and the Legal 500 in inquests and inquiries, professional discipline, police law and crime. He was shortlisted for Public Services Junior of the Year at the Legal 500 Awards 2025, having previously won the Chambers & Partners Professional Discipline Junior of the Year and having featured as the Times’ Lawyer of the Week.

Inquests and Inquiries

Kevin is ranked as a leading practitioner in inquests and inquiries in both Chambers UK 2025 and the Legal 500 2025. He acts for interested persons in Coroners’ Inquests, specialising in but not limited to deaths in custody. Kevin is a former Assistant Coroner whose considerable experience as advocate in jury inquests combines with his specialist knowledge of emergency services procedures and operational policing to provide the particular skills to give an advantageous edge for this specialist work. Examples of his recent work include:

Inquest touching the death of Lewis Johnson [2025]
Represented the officer in charge in this Article 2 inquest into the death of a moped rider during a police pursuit. The inquest required extensive inquiry into police protocols and systems.

Inquest touching the death of Sabina Rizvi [2024]
Represented suspected officers in a reopened Article 2 inquest, held in the Old Bailey, to determine whether they had tipped off the murderers (and / or breached their Osman duties) of Sabina Rizvi, a 21-year-old woman shot when leaving the police station.

Inquest touching the death of Raphael Gill [2022]
Represented the Metropolitan Police Service in this high-profile inquest into the death of a young black man who was arrested and later died in custody from seizures following the stresses of being placed under arrest, where previous intelligence flagged such a risk. The inquest involved witness tampering issues and extensive written submissions.

Inquests into terror attacks at Fishmongers Hall and London Bridge [2021]
Represented the police ‘Prevent’ officers engaged with and responsible for terrorist Usman Khan before and at the time of the attacks at Fishmonger’s Hall and London Bridge.

Stone inquest [2021-22]
Article 2 inquest into death under police restraint of individual exhibiting signs of Acute Behavioural Disturbance. Representing police officers applying the restraint.

Peck [2022]
Inquest into death of vulnerable elderly gentleman in RTC shortly after police contact having been reported missing.

Bailey [2022]
Article 2 inquest into death of pedestrian during police response driving and comms systems.

Malagardis (2021)
Representing police officer and detention officer at the centre of a case concerning the death of homeless man outside a police station in the cold after his ejection from the station and locking of the doors. The case attracted national press interest.

Other death in custody inquests
Swallowing drugs (eg Ullah), release from custody absent mental health assessment (eg O’Rourke), Mental Health Act processes and remands (eg Church).

Professional Discipline

Kevin is recognised as a leading defence advocate in the field of professional discipline, providing specialist advice, drafting and advocacy in disciplinary and performance hearings, as well as IOPC cases. He is complemented by his experience in police law and is trusted by organisations and forces across the country to give lectures and training on the law and procedure. Examples of his leading work in the field include:

Panorama Charing Cross 
Defending officers featured in BBC documentary.

Investigations into David Carrick
Defending officer alleged to have made gross misconduct failings in original investigation into David Carrick.

Re PC CJ [2025]
High-profile use of force case concerning the use of a Taser on a young black man. The officer was acquitted on racial discrimination allegations.

Re PC RB [2025]
High-profile misconduct hearing of a young female Muslim role-model police officer facing allegations of racist and discriminatory tweets before and after she joined the force.

Re B [2024]
Proceedings touched on multiple complex arguments involving the Equality Act 2010, novel legal argument on the applicability of the honesty and integrity standard to alleged sexual misconduct and inappropriate comments and behaviour when off duty.

Operation Gentry [2024]
Defending against allegations of discriminatory practices predicated upon adverse Employment Tribunal findings.

Re S [2023]
Appearing opposite a silk and junior in a sensitive and difficult case concerning alleged serious sexual misconduct.

Re PC K [2022]
Defending against allegations of breach of orders and instructions following appearance on the ‘Big Brother’ reality television show.

Police Law & Judicial Review

Kevin is prominent in the law reports having led and appeared in landmark cases in the field of police regulation over many years. He is ranked Band 1 in Police law in the Legal 500 2025 and (Defendant) in Chambers UK 2025. Kevin recently took the national lead in responding to the practice of use of vetting as a route to dismissal, bringing test cases, consulting on statutory guidance and new regulations, and leading the root and branch winning test case with nationwide consequences including influencing new laws. He conducted test cases on the novel issues of restrictions on private life, as well as jurisdiction over pre-attestation conduct both in England and Wales and Northern Ireland. His cases have stretched the entire breadth of novel regulatory issues in the field for decades. Examples of his recent work include:

 R (JR) v A police service [2025] R (ST) v A police service [2025]
Challenges to the lawfulness of orders not to have contact with partner or close family members in circumstances where the reasons for the need to prohibit contact are not disclosed.

Re W [2025]
Judicial review on point of general importance: use of regulation 13 PR 2003 for disputed misconduct by the device of citing the delays to resolution of allegations by the criminal courts rather than complaining of the conduct itself. First principles, fairness, and Barred List analysis submissions made resulting in force reversing their position and discontinuing the practice.

British Transport Police new Conduct and Vetting Regulations Consultation [2025]
Advising in statutory consultation process on creation and adoption of new regulations and differences in application to unique structure and circumstances of BTP

Home Office consultation of Conduct Regulations amendment [2025]
Lead counsel advising and drafting formal representations on behalf of national federation and MPS federation in respect of overhaul of Police (Conduct) Regulations 2025 in the statutory consultation process.

Home Office consultation of new Police (Vetting) Regulations 2025
Lead counsel advising and drafting formal representations on behalf of national federation and MPS federation in respect of the newly drafted Police (Vetting) Regulations 2025 in the statutory consultation process.

Watson’s Judicial Review (Court of Appeal, Northern Ireland) [2024] NICA 7
Representing 4 national police federations and over 150,000 officers intervening in Court of Appeal of Northern Ireland in test case determining application of discipline regulations to pre-attestation conduct. Called to NI Bar.

R (Chief Constable of TVP) v PAT [2024] EWHC 1454
Intervention on behalf of PFEW in England and Wales test case on jurisdiction as to pre-attestation conduct.

R (Quirke) v Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset [2024] EWHC 2826
Claimant for judicial review irrationality challenge to removal of vetting for unproven pre-attestation conduct.

R v (Philpot) v Commissioner of the Police of the Metropolis [2023] EWCA Civ 66
Court of Appeal. Claimant in judicial review for officer in test case on issue of force imposing restrictions upon private life – whether power to impose, whether compatible and justified as Art 8 infringement and the principle of legality.

R (Victor) v Chief Constable of West Mercia [2023] EWHC 2119 (Admin)
Leading Counsel versus KC and junior claiming judicial review in test case concerning dismissal through device of removing vetting.

Northumbria Police Service v IOPC [2022]
Judicial Review acting for IP resisting claim seeking to quash IOPC decisions of no case to answer and not to recommend disciplinary action against officer for gross misconduct.

Probationer discharge [2022]
Advising and acting in respect of use of Regulation 13 Police Regulations 2013 to dispense with services of probationer constables where unlawful by reason of requirement to utilise conduct regulations and associated protections.

R (Commissioner of police for the Metropolis) v PAT and Michel and Charnock [2022] EWHC 2711
Meaning of ‘unreasonable’ and whether Rule 4(4)(a) appeals raise an estoppel given absence of remittal power.

R (Bainbridge) v IOPC and others CO/2470/2021
Contesting the existence of the equivalent of a Victim’s Right of Review in police misconduct cases upon an investigation conclusion of no case to answer.

PS B [2021]
Judicial Review concerning recently developing line of authority on imposing sanctions re applying Fuglers as decided in Roscoe and West Mids Officer A.

Fraud/Financial Regulation

Following a Masters Degree at Oxford in commercial law Kevin took pupillage at the Commercial Bar (20 Essex Street) before moving to the Criminal Bar to employ his advocacy skills.  He is experienced in acting for prosecution and defence, and in cases brought by the FCA, SFO and CPS. His approach is based on thorough early preparation and mastery of the detail. He is experienced in providing advice at all stages of the process from pre-charge to large prosecutions. Notable cases include:

• Ponzi fraud
• Carousel fraud
• Mortgage fraud
• Insider trading.

Notable Fraud/Financial Regulation cases:

Thorncroft
Defending former Chair of the Association of UK Payment Institutions re Money Laundering, wrongfully retaining credit and ML Regulations breaches. £850,000 and involving more than 60 victims underlying boiler room laundering proceeds through money service bureau payments to China. Further charge in relation to allowing £265,000 payment in breach of SCPO.

Insider Trading
Led by Neil Saunders. Advising, drafting, and acting from pre-charge stage for FSA in significant insider trading prosecutions.

R v L
Fraud by abuse of position. Defending senior financial products manager for large international bank on charges of fraud by abuse of position concerning use of privileged information to steal customer identities in order to access their accounts.

R v B & Others
SFO Ponzi fraud. Junior counsel defending only acquitted defendant in a Category 2 SFO fraud with many aspects, including a Ponzi fraud in relation to investment in a gold mine, share dealing, banking instruments, insurance and reinsurance. A complex 24 count indictment evidenced by hundreds of thousands of pages of material was drastically reduced following successful dismissal arguments conceived through meticulous preparation. The trial at Liverpool Crown Court featured numerous experts, in particular from the scientific and financial fields and evidence by live link from abroad. Kevin used his familiarity with electronic evidence to negotiate this case.

R v O & Others
Largest detected fraud against NHS at its time. Kevin defended in this case concerning the largest ever payroll fraud detected against the NHS, at its centre a fraudster listed as one of the 10 most wanted criminals in the country. The payroll manager at King’s College hospital was recruited to create a ghost workforce by exploiting a loophole in the electronic payroll system. Conspiracy and money laundering charges were preferred by the Crown whose case was heavily document based. The entire trail from initial recruitment, booking of staff, timesheets, ‘prism’ system entries, matchnet reports was created and faked, expert computer evidence was relied upon.

Serious and Specialist Crime

Kevin has over 25 years unbroken experience in serious criminal cases, including (but not limited to) those involving issues of corruption, perverting the course of justice, rape and sexual assault, indecent images, public order offences, and cyber-crime. Having completed a master’s degree in commercial law and undertaken pupillage at the Commercial Bar, Kevin’s expertise extends to specialist crime cases involving highly technical matters of fraud and financial regulation. Some of his recent leading work in this field includes:

R. v. S [2026]
Representing  police officer accused of multiple sexual allegations and rape against multiple complainants

R v. N [2025]
Representing police officer accused of g.b.h. causing life changing injuries in firearm incident

R v AD [2025]
Representing police officer  re multiple allegations of corruption linked to organised crime.

R v B [2024]
Defended a police officer against allegations of rape.

R v PL [2024]
Defended in Treasury Counsel prosecuted high-profile use-of-force case which was the subject of viral videos and national press.

R v Mahmood [2023]
Awarded ‘The Times Lawyer of the Week’ after defending an officer facing allegations of inflicting GBH on a man left paralysed after the use of a Taser. Sensitive case with expert evidence and national press coverage.

R v Fisher [2023]
Defended a police officer in this high-profile case concerning allegations of dangerous driving following a serious collision when travelling at speed in response to the Streatham terrorist attacks. The officer was ultimately acquitted.

Recommendations

“Kevin is one of the leading junior barristers in police discipline. In terms of black-letter law, he is second to none.”
Chambers and Partners 2025

“Kevin knows more about police practice and the implementation of those things when they morph into criminal proceedings than any other lawyer in England & Wales.”
Legal 500 2025

“Kevin is increasingly regarded as a leading authority, if not the authority, in matters relating to police misconduct.”
Legal 500 2025

“Knows the law inside and out.”
Chambers and Partners 2024

“Kevin has a razor-sharp intellect. He is a fearsome courtroom advocate, a ruthless cross-examiner and a stellar black-letter lawyer.”
Legal 500 2024

“Kevin has a piercing intellect and is an exceptional lawyer who always has the latest caselaw at his fingertips.”
Legal 500 2024

“Kevin has a razor-sharp intellect and is an unstoppable force on his feet. Most opponents wilt before him.”
Legal 500 2024

“He is a fearsome courtroom advocate, a ruthless cross-examiner and a stellar black letter lawyer.”
Legal 500 2024

“Kevin has an exceptional tactical brain, is meticulous in his case preparation, and has an unparalleled eye for detail.”
Chambers and Partners 2023

“His tactical knowledge is immense, and he has the ability to get to grips with a case in a manner that inevitably results in victory.”
Chambers and Partners 2023

“Kevin has an exceptional tactical brain, is meticulous in his case preparation and his eye for detail is unparalleled.”
Legal 500 2023

“He is fiercely intellectual and presents his submissions in a clear and persuasive manner.”
Chambers and Partners 2022

“A great tactician”
Chambers and Partners 2022

“An outstanding advocate and cross-examiner. The best in the area of police misconduct, always calm and understated.”
Chambers and Partners 2022

“He’s exceptionally good.”
Chambers and Partners 2022

“He is meticulous in his preparation, works very hard and finds every good point – it always seems that he has a strong case.”
Legal 500 2022

“Brilliantly clever, hard as nails, relentless in pursuit desired by his clients — he is admired and feared in equal measure by his opponents.”
Legal 500 2022

“Kevin is pretty much universally acknowledged as the leading junior in the UK in police discipline cases.”
Legal 500 2022

“Clever, tenacious and an extremely effective advocate who produces devastating lines of cross-examination.”
Chambers and Partners 2021

“Highly intelligent, all over the law and a very compelling, succinct barrister.”
Chambers and Partners 2021

“A brilliant all-rounder. He’s a very capable lawyer and advocate, and his analysis stands out.”
Chambers and Partners 2021

“Incredibly well regarded, and very active in matters involving the Met.”
Chambers and Partners 2021

“A persuasive, tactically shrewd advocate.”
Legal 500 2021

“Kevin has a marvellous ability for getting to grips with the most complicated scenarios. He is extremely hard working and never allows the amount of material to get on top of him. He is remarkably good with clients and offers a great reassuring presence to all involved in the case.”
Legal 500 2021

Privacy

Kevin adopts and adheres to the provisions of his data protection notice and privacy policy.  From time to time, Kevin may process personal data on the legal basis that it is necessary to further legitimate interests. When he does so, please consult his legitimate interests assessment.

Education

Degrees

• BCL (Oxon) – Masters degree, Brasenose College, Oxford
• LLB (1st class hons) – English and European Law

Awards

• Pegasus International Scholarship
• Walter Wigglesworth Major Scholarship (Lincoln’s Inn)
• Sir Thomas More Bursary Award (Lincoln’s Inn)
• Hardwicke Entrance Award (Lincoln’s Inn)
• Sweet and Maxwell Prize (highest first class hons degree)
• Hammond Suddards Law Prize for Commercial Law and Competition Law
• British Academy Scholar to Brasenose College Oxford

Appointments

Former assistant coroner

Direct Access

Kevin Baumber is qualified to accept instructions direct from clients under the Bar Council’s Public Access Scheme. This means that members of the public who seek specialist advice can come direct to him. In addition, he welcomes instructions from solicitors, in-house law departments, qualified foreign lawyers, and clients licensed by the Bar Council to give instructions direct to barristers under the Bar Council’s Licensed Access Scheme.

For further information please contact our Clerks.

Further Information

In promotion of diversity at the Bar Kevin is a mentor with ‘Bridging the Bar’, and other mentoring schemes, including actions of his own initiative as well as having acted as an Inns of Court Diversity trainer and attendances at his local primary and secondary schools running innovated trials he has written of R v Jack Beanstalk on theft and criminal damage charges, alongside trials of Macbeth and Frankenstein’s Monster.

Lectures

• Regular and annual training and seminars for national and local federations and leading solicitors firms on all aspects relating to police regulation 2025 Vetting training for lawyers and practitioners
• Has lectured on fraud for CPD accredited training seminars
• He was the sole speaker at a seminar entitled “Fraud and Recent Developments” for MBL Seminars.
• Has lectured on confiscation at formal seminars.

Sporting Achievements

• International amateur honours in cycling/running as veteran.
• Kevin is club captain at Shaftesbury Cycling Club est 1888, 10x club champion, 50x trophy winner and 27x club record breaker. He has ranked highly in in the British Best All Rounder competition for time trialling, and won County Championship titles. He continues to train and compete with success into his 50s.
• He ran his first competitive marathon finishing in under 3 hours in 2017, aged 43 on a rolling course in Chelmsford.
• Kevin has competed internationally for Great Britain in his age group in duathlon (run/bike/run) placing highly in international and national championships
• He formerly rowed lightweight at Thames and London Rowing Clubs and won blades at Oxford for Brasenose College.

For further details of Kevin’s practice please contact a member of the clerking or client service team.

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Registered Name: Kevin John Baumber
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Privacy

Kevin adopts and adheres to the provisions of the privacy notice which can be accessed here.