Hannah Thomas

Hannah specialises in criminal law, professional discipline and inquests & inquiries. She is ranked in the latter field as a ‘Rising Star’ junior in the Legal 500.

In her criminal work Hannah both prosecutes and defends and has established a busy practice both led and as a junior alone. Her work covers all manner of serious criminal offences. Recent instructions include murder, GBH, rape, fraud, conspiracy to supply drugs and firearm offences. She also has experience in the appellate courts, having been instructed both in case stated appeals and judicial review in the High Court, and she has appeared before the Court of Appeal in appeals against both conviction and sentence.

When defending Hannah is often chosen to represent clients with vulnerabilities due to her excellent client care skills. She has a calm and friendly approach and provides robust advice to clients. Hannah’s prosecution work covers both public and private prosecutions. She is a Grade 3 panel advocate and in 2019 was seconded to a white-collar crime firm to work full-time on a successful private prosecution.

Hannah is a sought after junior in inquiries and inquests, having worked on a number of high profile matters. She was instructed on the Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, the Manchester Arena Bombing Inquiry and acted in a team of counsel on the Levitt KC Boohoo Group PLC Independent Review. Hannah also represents a range of clients at inquest hearings, including jury and Article 2 inquests. She has acted for families and other interested persons and has particular experience representing medical professionals.

Hannah’s wealth of experience in this regard feeds into her professional discipline work. Her work spans the MPTS, NMC, GoSC and GOC. She has experience both representing professional members and presenting cases on behalf of regulators both before tribunals and in ancillary applications in the High Court.

Practice Area

Panel

  • Contributing Author

Qualified Year

  • 2016

Membership

  • The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple
  • Young Legal Aid Lawyers
  • Young Fraud Lawyers Association
  • Criminal Bar Association
  • Women in Criminal Law
  • Private Prosecutors Association
  • Government Legal Department Junior Junior Scheme
  • CPS Panel Advocate, level 1

Education

  • BPTC, City University London
  • GDL, City University London
  • BSc (Hons) Psychology, First Class, University of Warwick

2 Contributions by Hannah Thomas

Crown Court Service of Prosecution Evidence and Disclosure (England and Wales): Deadlines, Extensions, DMDs, Indictment, Case Management, Unused and Additional Material, Reluctant Witnesses
PRACTICE NOTES
Crown Court Service of Prosecution Evidence and Disclosure (England and Wales): Deadlines, Extensions, DMDs, Indictment, Case Management, Unused and Additional Material, Reluctant Witnesses
Disclosure obligations Where a defendant appears before a magistrates’ court charged with an indictable‑only offence, or an either way offence, and is sent to the Crown Court for trial under s 51(1) of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (CDA 1998), the framework for serving the prosecution’s evidence is set by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 (Service of Prosecution Evidence) Regulations 2005 (CDA (SPE) Regs), SI 2005/902, together with the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 (CrimPR 2025), SI 2025/909. For provision of Initial Details of the Prosecution Case (IDPC) disclosure in the magistrates’ court, refer to Practice Note: Disclosure in the magistrates’ court. Be aware that some criminal proceedings are administered via the Crown Court Digital Case System (DCS), Crown Court’s electronic case management platform. In such cases, service and access to prosecution material may occur through the DCS. For further guidance, see Practice Note: How to use Common Platform and the Digital Case System...
Corporate Crime
Identifying, requesting and compelling third-party material in criminal proceedings: duties and witness summonses (England and Wales)
PRACTICE NOTES
Identifying, requesting and compelling third-party material in criminal proceedings: duties and witness summonses (England and Wales)
This Practice Note explains how third-party material can be identified and obtained. It addresses investigators’ obligations under the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (CPIA 1996) and its Code of Practice to pursue all reasonable lines of enquiry, together with the disclosure responsibilities of Crown servants. It sets out how to seek disclosure directly from a third party and how to apply for a witness summons requiring production of material under the Criminal Procedure Rules 2025 (CrimPR 2025), SI 2025/909. The CPIA 1996 governs the prosecution’s disclosure in criminal proceedings, imposing primary, secondary and continuing duties in relation to material that could reasonably be considered to weaken the prosecution case or assist the accused. A parallel duty also exists at common law. For further detail, see Practice Note: Obtaining disclosure of unused evidence. Third party material refers to material held by a person, organisation or government department other than the investigator or prosecutor, whether within or outside the UK. Such third parties are not directly involved in the case but may possess information relevant to it...
Corporate Crime
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