Daniel White

Mr. White has experience dealing with many areas of crime, including particular specialty areas.

Financial crime:

Prosecution counsel for “Operation Goliath”; an investigation leading to the successful prosecution of multiple defendants for their roles in fraudulently obtaining Universal Credit payments totalling many millions of pounds, during the covid pandemic.

Prosecuted (successfully) a £29M, MTIC fraud following a joint investigation on behalf of HMRC and The Insolvency Service;

Prosecuted (successfully) the DWP’s largest ever giro cheque fraud, resulting in the conviction of all 9 defendants for their part in stealing over £1 million;

Prosecuted (successfully) a lawyer employed by the Department for Work and Pensions whose responsibilities included advising on entitlement to benefits, who had made large scale and lengthy dishonest claims for Council Tax benefit, Income Support, Housing Benefit and Incapacity benefit;

Acted as leading junior prosecuting two defendants for defrauding the UK Government’s ‘Access to Work’ scheme of over £1 million: the victims of the fraud were 29 profoundly deaf individuals who had applied for assistance to find work through the scheme;

Murder & manslaughter:

Represented (as junior alone) the defendant, who was said to be a member of The English Defence League, on a charge of attempted murder, where it was alleged he had plunged a sword through a man’s body as part of a planned execution. The defendant disputed the identification evidence and, following successful arguments to exclude his ID parades, he was acquitted upon the direction of the Judge.

Junior counsel defending CP who was acquitted, at trial, of a charge of murder. The defence being one of self-defence, when the two parties had argued within a property and a knife was used.

Junior Counsel in the prosecution of a defendant who murdered a young woman by asphyxia (defendant convicted of murder);

Prosecuted (successfully), as junior alone, AL for two offences of attempted murder, whereby he was accused of following his former partner back to her friend’s address and thereafter attacking them both with knives, leading to life threatening injuries.

Prosecution junior counsel in the case of RO, who pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his mother and attempted murder of his father; a case involving expert evidence concerning the defendant’s schizophrenia and the impact that had had upon his ability to form an intention to kill.

Junior Counsel representing one of two defendants charged with the manslaughter of an 86 year old man following a violent attack during the burglary of his home;

Appeared, as junior alone, prosecuting (successfully) defendants charged with assisting and offender to murder, by burning out the car used in the murder of Kimani Martin.

Defence counsel for AM, a 16-year-old accused of attempted murder, following a group stabbing within a park in Coventry.

Organised  and Serious Crime:

Successfully prosecuted two defendants for violent disorder following their involvement in the unlawful protests at the Holiday Inn Express in Tamworth, which occurred following the “Southport Stabbings” in August 2024.

Appeared as leading counsel in “Operation Abridge”, prosecuting a series of armed robberies at casinos in the West Midlands, resulting in the convictions of all four defendants.

Appeared as leading counsel for the Crown (successfully) against EP and CN, who were charged with multiple counts of child cruelty. A case receiving significant press coverage following a their teenaged child being discovered in Birmingham City centre after weeks of torture and ill treatment.

Lead counsel for the Crown in “Operation Jodami”. A case of conspiracy to supply drugs using the “County Lines” model across various centres within the West and East Midlands; resulting in the convictions of all five defendants.

Successfully prosecuted (as leading counsel) a serving police officer (MC) from Avon and Somerset police for offences of controlling and coercive behaviour and non-fatal strangulation.

Prosecuted (successfully) members of Gloucestershire’s most prolific organised crime group for conspiracy to supply cocaine.

Defended (successfully) PL, a man accused of raping his former partner.

Defended (successfully) MM, who was accused of causing grievous bodily harm with intent upon a police officer; a case where it was said that the officer had used excessive force upon MM’s partner and thereafter MM had defended them both.

Successfully defending a female prison officer (ET) who faced a charge of misconduct in a public office, whereby she was accused of having a sexual relationship with an inmate.

Successfully prosecuting RD for a campaign of rape upon his former partner, the majority of these rapes occurring as she slept.

Road Traffic offences:

Defending, as junior alone, a 17-year-old male for events occurring 5 weeks after passing his driving test, resulting in three fatalities and three further individuals suffering life changing injuries. The case eventually resolved by way of pleas to causing death by careless driving, resulting in a sentence of two years detention.

Successfully prosecuting LR for causing death by dangerous driving when the vehicle he drove collided with a motorcyclist; a case involving complex points of law and expert evidence concerning whether the defendant’s epilepsy might be causally linked to the collision and subsequent fatality.

Successfully defending MY, a taxi driver accused of GBH and causing serious injury by dangerous driving; the nature of his defence being that a drunken and unruly passenger had in fact not been struck deliberately by his car after he got out, but instead had caused his own injuries by falling over as he tried to strike the defendant’s car.

Successfully prosecuted LF in Birmingham Crown Court for causing death by dangerous driving after he collided at 70 mph with an Uber driver on a moped.

Successfully prosecuted a death by careless driving case where the defendant had entered a roundabout without sufficient care and struck a cyclist causing fatal injuries;

Regulatory

Co-authored and assisted in the conduct of reviewing a European wide company providing children’s nursery services, following alleged Safeguarding breaches.

Represented (successfully) a mental health practitioner before the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, when she was alleged to have committed breaches of their regulations.

Instructed to represent the Office of Rail Regulation in proceedings involving allegations of misconduct on private land, leading to serious personal injury including amputation of a limb.

Represented a company and its directors as respondents to a civil claim for an injunction before the High Court, based upon suggestions that their firm had stored waste in breach of permitted conditions. Injunctive relief was successfully opposed.

Represented defendants charged under Health and Safety legislation for alleged infringements in the inspection of children’s toys.

Sports law:

Daniel is a keen sportsman who played rugby at National Level One for several years and now enjoys playing and watching all sports including tennis, padel, football, paddleboarding, surfing and cricket.

Notable cases include:

Instructed to represent a GB rower before a Sport Resolutions panel for alleged sexual misconduct with someone whom they were coaching.

Instructed to represent a retired England footballer in relation to civil proceedings linked to their image rights.

Instructed to represent Badminton England in disciplinary proceedings, before their Disciplinary Committee, against a former international badminton player.

Instructed to represent a professional ice hockey player before their Disciplinary Committee for allegations of blindsiding an opponent during a match.

Successfully appealed to the FA Disciplinary Committee a previous decision that his client had spat upon a referee, arguing that although the act had been committed it had not been intentional or reckless and that he could not have anticipated contact would occur with the referee.

Advised upon and represented individuals in relation to contractual disputes on agency agreements, lifetime bans from sport, anti-bribery legislation, anti-doping infringements and almost everything in between.

Other notable cases

R v Stobbe – Court of Appeal Criminal Division [2024] – Successfully reducing the length of sentence imposed against Mr Stobbe for non-fatal strangulation of his former partner.

Junior Counsel in D.P.P –v- Connolly [2007] EWHC 237 Admin  –  on the meaning of ‘indecent or grossly offensive’  within the Malicious Communications Act 1988, and interpretation of Articles 9 and 10 ECHR. See: 

http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2007/237.html

Davies –v- Solihull Justices [2008] EWHC 1157 Admin – remains one of the leading cases on misconduct by a defendant and his subsequent trial in absence.

Further Information

Memberships

Criminal Bar Association

Midlands Circuit

South West Fraud Forum (Steering Group Member)

Appointments

Judicial Officer for the RFU, EPCR and World Rugby