Tom Copeland

Overview

Tom is a committed barrister who is dedicated to the best interests of his clients. His meticulous case preparation, ability to provide clients with clear, focused advice and persuasive trial advocacy makes him a highly sought-after criminal defence barrister.

He acts in cases of varying size and complexity across all areas of crime, including:

• Homicide (including murder / attempted murder)
• Serious violence
• Firearms offences
• Drug supply and importation
• Sexual offences (including rape)
• Fraud and associated confiscation proceedings
• Public disorder and protest-related offences

He has a reputation for gaining the trust and respect of clients from all backgrounds. Tom has appeared in court at all levels from the youth court to the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division).

Notable Cases

Homicide

R v TM, Central Criminal Court (2025)
Murder: Led by Michael Ivers KC, representing one of three brothers accused of a joint enterprise stabbing.

R v RH, Lewes Crown Court (2025)
Murder: Led by Keir Monteith KC, representing a 17-year-old accused of stabbing another young person with a zombie knife.

R v AH, Central Criminal Court (2025)
Death by careless driving: Represented a bus driver accused of driving carelessly and causing the death of a passenger attempting to board the bus. The case involved complex medical evidence on causation.

R v CC, Central Criminal Court (2024)
Murder / Firearms / Drug supply: Led by James Scobie KC, represented a man accused of being part of an organised criminal group using ‘EncroChat’ to plan a murder in the context of drug importation involving hundreds of kilos of cocaine.

R v AA, Manchester Crown Court (2024)
Murder: Led by Gillian Kones KC (Head of Red Lion Chambers), representing a man extradited from Pakistan 10 years after the murder had taken place. He was accused of carrying out a gangland execution of a notorious local gang leader. The trial involved contested expert evidence in cell site, DNA, blood spatter, ballistics and pathology.

R v MM, Aylesbury Crown Court (2024)
Death by dangerous driving: Represented a young man accused of driving dangerously on the M40. His vehicle collided with another resulting in the death of the passenger and serious injury to the driver of the other vehicle.

R v DX, Central Criminal Court (2021)
Murder: Led by Mark Gatley KC, representing a husband accused of stabbing his partner over 50 times.

Serious Violence

R v AB, Derby Crown Court (2021)
Attempted murder / Firearms: Led junior representing a defendant charged as a hitman contracted by a drugs gang to kill a rival gang member. This was one of the first prosecutions in the UK relying on ‘EncroChat’ evidence.

R v DH, Central Criminal Court (2021)
Attempted murder / Firearms: Represents a male accused of attempting to kill two individuals during a shooting in South London.

Serious Violence

R v FE, Wood Green Crown Court (2025)
Kidnap: Representing a man accused of conspiring to kidnap a male and robbing him of over £1 million worth of cryptocurrency.

 R v MIA, Snaresbrook Crown Court (2024)
Attempted murder / Firearms: Led by Hossein Zahir KC, representing a 17-year-old defendant accused of a revenge shooting on a 15-year-old who sustained a gunshot injury to his neck in broad daylight.

R v AT, Snaresbrook Crown Court (2024)
Firearms / knives: Represented a young defendant in a five-week trial concerning a conspiracy to obtain a firearm in the context of retaliatory gang violence.

R v AB, Derby Crown Court (2021)
Attempted murder / Firearms: Led by Howard Godfrey KC (of 2 Bedford Row), representing a defendant charged as a hitman contracted by a drugs gang to kill a rival gang member. This was one of the first prosecutions in the UK relying on ‘EncroChat’ evidence.

R v DH, Central Criminal Court (2021)
Attempted murder / Firearms: Represented a male accused of attempting to kill two individuals during a drive by shooting in South London connected with organised criminal groups / drug supply.

R v MF, Wood Green Crown Court (2020)
Armed robbery: Defendant committed a spree of knife-point robberies. Case involved psychiatric evidence and the issue of dangerousness.

R v TN, Southampton Crown Court (2018)
Kidnap/false imprisonment: Defendant was accused of being involved in serious organised crime and using violence to take over a nightclub. He was acquitted after a one-week trial.

R v FA, Harrow Crown Court (2018)
s.18 assault: First defendant in a multi-handed ‘joint enterprise’ case lasting two weeks involving a client accused of stabbing someone at a house party.

R v MM, Reading Crown Court (2016)
Armed robbery: The 21-year-old defendant was acquitted of an armed robbery at a mobile phone shop. The case involved cell-site evidence, call data, ANPR and DNA evidence.

Firearms

R v MIA, Snaresbrook Crown Court (2024)
Attempted murder / Firearms: Led by Hossein Zahir KC, representing a 17-year-old defendant accused of a revenge shooting on a 15-year-old who sustained a gunshot injury to his neck in broad daylight.

R v FT, Snaresbrook Crown Court (2024)
Firearm with intent to endanger life: Represented a defendant on licence for a previous murder charged with threatening a family member with a firearm.

R v DH, Inner London Crown Court (2019)
Firearms/Drug supply: The co-defendant ran a cut-throat defence suggesting the defendant forced him at gunpoint to store loaded firearms. The defendant was acquitted after a two-week trial.

R v MC, Wood Green Crown Court (2018)
Conspiracy to transfer firearms: Led by Hossein Zahir KC during a six-week trial representing a 17-year-old accused of conspiring to provide firearms to gang members during a feud.

Modern Slavery

R v MM, Stafford Crown Court (2018 – 2023)
People trafficking: Led by Bill Evans for the first defendant in a large prosecution accusing several family members of modern slavery offences.

R v IB, Birmingham Crown Court (2019)
People trafficking: Led by Marguerite Russell, representing the first defendant during a ten-week trial involving the “biggest modern-day slave ring”. The case involved a vast amount of evidence, complex legal arguments and was widely reported in the national and international media.

Drugs

R v JH, Basildon Crown Court (2025)
Conspiracy to supply Class A: Representing a defendant in a seven-week trial accused of being a key player in the supply of wholesale quantities of cocaine.

R v JT, Snaresbrook Crown Court (2025)
Conspiracy to supply Class A: Representing a defendant contesting the attribution of an ‘EncroChat’ device that was involved in the supply of multiple kilos of cocaine.

R v VO, Kingston Crown Court (2024)
Conspiracy to supply Class A: Led by Mark Gatley KC, representing a defendant challenging the admissibility of ‘EncroChat’ evidence by relying on expert evidence.

R v LM, Isleworth Crown Court (2024)
Conspiracy to supply Class A: Represented an Albanian national accused of being involved in the importation and onward distribution of over 100 kilos of cocaine.

R v KR, Croydon Crown Court (2023)
Conspiracy to supply Class A: Defendant was accused of fitting illegal hides into vehicles to facilitate the commission of drug / money laundering and firearm offences. He was also accused of operating an ‘EncroChat’ handle involved in the distribution of over 30 kilos of cocaine.

R v BH, Kingston Crown Court (2021)
Conspiracy to supply Class A: Defendant involved in the importation and sale of over a hundred kilos of cocaine for a specific commission for each kilo supplied.

R v NA, St Albans Crown Court (2021)
Conspiracy to supply Class A: Multi-handed case involving a ‘county line’ distributing crack cocaine and heroin. The defendant advanced a defence under the Modern Slavery Act.

R v HM, Central Criminal Court (2016)
Supply of Class A drugs: The defendant was acquitted of supplying a kilo of cocaine on the basis that she had no knowledge of the enterprise. The case involved sensitive intelligence.

Sexual Offences

R v MG, Isleworth Crown Court (2024)
Rape: Represented a 19-year-old charged with rape. In cross-examination, it was established that the complainant had manipulated phone evidence before providing it to police, causing the case to be dropped.

R v JB, Croydon Crown Court (2024)
Arranging commission of a child sex offence: Represented a male who was arrested following an undercover police sting operation in online chatrooms.

R v TB, St Albans Crown Court (2021) 
Rape: Multi-handed case involving two young defendants accused of gang-raping a 15-year-old girl.

R v BB, Harrow Crown Court (2018)
Rape: A judge found there was no case to answer in a case against an 18-year-old accused of participating in the gang rape of a drug user.

R v GH, Lewes Crown Court (2018)
Rape: A “Tinder rape” allegation involving a disabled complainant. The defendant was acquitted after arguing that the sex was consensual.

R v A, Maidstone Crown Court (2017)
Historic sex offences: Defendant was accused of several historic sexual offences including rape dating back to the 1970’s.

R v MS, Harrow Crown Court (2017)
Rape: Represented the first defendant in an alleged gang rape of a sex worker. This case involved cross-examination of the complainant’s sexual history.

R v SZ, Birmingham Crown Court (2017)
Rape: A trial lasting seven days where the defendant taxi driver was accused of using drugs to facilitate the rape of a customer.

Dishonesty / Fraud

R v MM, Snaresbrook Crown Court (2025)
Criminal property: Defendant accused of money laundering over £150k of drug money.

R v MM, Southwark Crown Court (2021)
Cyber-enabled fraud: Defendant was the leading figure in a conspiracy involving money laundering and a HMRC phishing scam worth over £1 million.

R v RA, Manchester Crown Court (2021)
Money laundering: Led by Lucie Wibberley in a case involving money laundering exceeding £2 million, linked to a Class A drugs conspiracy. This was one of the first prosecutions in the UK to rely on ‘EncroChat’ evidence.

R v LK, Croydon Crown Court (2017)
Immigration fraud: Led by Marguerite Russell during a six-week trial. The defendant was accused of leading a criminal gang that arranged sham marriages between Lithuanian women and non-EEA nationals.

Protest

R v JB, Central Criminal Court (2025)
Aggravated burglary: Defendant accused of being part of a violent incident organised by the group known as Palestine Action.

R v CB, Snaresbrook Crown Court (2023)
Criminal damage: Defendant accused of participating in two violent protests at Elbit / UAV Engines Limited carried out by a group known as Palestine Action.

R v AS, Canterbury Crown Court (2017)
Violent disorder: The defendant was involved in an anti-fascist protest in Dover that was the subject of significant media attention.

R v CH, Snaresbrook Crown Court (2016)
Protest/Affray: A trial lasting several weeks involving the eviction of squatters by riot police triggering violence. The defendant was acquitted following a successful submission of no case to answer.

Other

R v PW, Blackfriars Crown Court (2016)
Preventing the lawful burial of a body: The defendant received a lenient sentence in an emotive case involving the disposal of a body in a canal. The sentence hearing attracted significant media attention.

Court of Appeal

R v Johnson (Wayne) [2017] EWCA Crim 189; [2017] 2 Cr. App. R. 6
Conveyance of List B or C articles into a prison: Authority cited in Archbold and Blackstone’s on the court’s approach to knowledge in order to establish this offence.

Overview

Tom is instructed in fraud cases of varying sizes including serious and complex fraud, money laundering and benefit fraud. He also accepts instructions in confiscation cases.

Notable Cases

Fraud

R v MM, Southwark Crown Court (2021)
Cyber-enabled fraud: Defendant was the leading figure in a conspiracy involving money laundering and a HMRC phishing scam worth over £1 million.

R v RA, Manchester Crown Court (2021)
Money laundering: Led junior in a case involving money laundering exceeding £2 million, linked to a Class A drugs conspiracy.

R v JE, Southwark Crown Court (2018)
Fraud: Led by Sam Robinson QC in a case involving a large-scale boiler room fraud involving several companies and the sale of land.

Confiscation

R v FY, Reading Crown Court (2016)
A contested POCA trial resulting in a confiscation order of around £7,000 despite the prosecution seeking an order for around £800,000.

Overview

Tom has experience representing children and young people in both the Youth Court and Crown Court. He has dealt with a range of cases both alone and as a led junior in the Crown Court involving murder, attempted murder, serious violence, weapons (including firearms), sexual offences and drugs including where the defendant has relied upon the defence that he or she was a victim of modern slavery and/or trafficking. He is regularly instructed to represent young people in ‘county lines’ cases involving conspiracies to supply Class A drugs.

He works hard to gain the confidence and trust of his clients through additional conferences where necessary and ensures that they understand the proceedings and fully participate.

Overview

Before joining the Bar, Tom worked for several years in the legal and voluntary sector with a particular focus on the protection of human rights. He worked for the Asylum Support Appeals Project, Bar Pro Bono Unit (now known as Advocate) and provided free advice at Croydon Law Centre.