Angharad Hughes
Angharad Hughes is a barrister at Howard Kennedy LLP. She came to the firm with experience of a flourishing criminal defence practice from a leading criminal set. Angharad’s instructions cover a wide range of matters including violent crime, dishonesty, confiscation, weapons, drugs, road traffic and public order offences. She also has experience in bringing private prosecutions on behalf of corporate entities.
She now specialises in financial and complex crime, civil recovery and fraud. She is known for her ability to quickly and competently grasp central issues.
She is also the founder of Griffin-LAW, a pro-bono project advancing social mobility at the Bar.
Practice Area
Panel
- Contributing Author
Qualified Year
- 2015
Membership
- The Honourable Society of Grays Inn
- Criminal Bar Association
- Young Fraud Lawyers Association
- Women in Criminal Law
Qualifications
- 2016 LLM
- 2015 BPTC
- 2014 GDL
- 2013 History BA (Hons)
5 Contributions by Angharad Hughes
PRACTICE NOTES
Attempt offences under the Criminal Attempts Act 1981: more than merely preparatory, intent, recklessness, impossibility, restrictions, jurisdiction and sentencing (England and Wales)
An individual is guilty of attempting an offence where, with the intention of committing that offence, they perform conduct that goes further than mere preparation for its commission. Attempt is an offence of specific intent; it necessitates a purposeful intention to commit the offence. The offence comprises both the criminal act and the requisite mental element. In every case, it is a matter of fact whether the defendant has advanced sufficiently towards the completed offence to amount to the act of attempt. Once the preparatory threshold has been crossed, the offence of attempt is made out, and it is no defence that the person then chose to withdraw rather than complete the offence. In most situations, attempts to commit criminal offences are governed by section 1 of the Criminal s Act 1981 (CAA 1981), though certain statutory exceptions continue to apply...
Corporate Crime
PRACTICE NOTES
Conspiracy: statutory and common law, elements, evidential issues, jurisdiction and sentencing (England and Wales)
There are three main inchoate offences in English law:
conspiracy — where two or more individuals have agreed to carry out a criminal act;
attempt — where the defendant has endeavoured to commit an offence and come fairly close to fulfilling the aim (see Practice Note: Attempt); and
encouraging or assisting a crime (previously incitement) — where the defendant has encouraged or helped another to commit an offence (see Practice Note: Encouraging and assisting criminality).
An inchoate offence is incomplete: it arises when a person takes steps towards committing a crime, yet their conduct stops short of the finished offence. The exception is conspiracy to defraud, where the intended outcome need not itself be criminal. That offence is considered separately; see Practice Note: to defraud.
Inchoate offences are not chargeable on their own, ie there is no standalone charge of conspiracy or attempt. A substantive offence is required, and the indictment must be framed by reference to the full offence, eg conspiracy to murder. Where an indictment pleads an ulterior offence, it must identify the specific offence alleged...
Corporate Crime
PRACTICE NOTES
Encouraging or Assisting Offences (SCA 2007 ss 44–46): Replacing Incitement—Elements, Scope, Penalties, Impossibility and Defences (England and Wales)
Encouraging criminality
As of 1 October 2008, when the Serious Crime Act 2007 (SCA 2007) came into force, the common law offence of incitement was abolished. In its place, SCA 2007, ss 44–46 introduced the offences of encouraging or assisting, which are inchoate in nature, covering unlawful conduct that has not yet occurred.
Under the SCA 2007 there are three routes to liability for encouraging criminality:
intentionally encouraging or assisting an offence
encouraging or assisting an offence while believing it will be carried out
encouraging or assisting offences, believing that one or more will be carried out
An offence is made out where both of the following apply:
a person does something capable of encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence, and
that encouragement or assistance is intended to bring about the commission of the offence
The offence is complete upon the giving of assistance; the prospective principal need not actually commit the encouraged offence. Accordingly, liability is complete irrespective of whether the encouragement or assistance produces the result the defendant anticipated...
Corporate Crime
PRACTICE NOTES
Previous convictions in criminal practice: ROA 1974 rehabilitation, DBS filtering, disclosure, bad character, bail, sentencing, appeals and DPAs (England and Wales)
This Practice Note examines spent convictions and rehabilitation periods under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA 1974), as updated by the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022. It also looks at how earlier convictions affect criminal investigations, their use as evidence in criminal proceedings, and their relevance to sentencing.
What is a spent conviction?
Where a conviction or caution becomes spent, the individual is, for most purposes, regarded in law as if no offence had been committed. Consequently, under ROA 1974, people with spent convictions or cautions are generally entitled not to disclose them when applying for most roles. However, they may still appear on a Disclosure and Barring Service criminal record check (a DBS check, sometimes called a CRB check), which certain positions will require. Some convictions become spent after a defined period, which depends on the disposal or sentence imposed. For some categories of offence, convictions are never spent.
Rehabilitation periods for criminal offences
On 28 October 2023, changes took effect that shorten the rehabilitation periods for particular sentences. These reforms reduce the length of time that people with previous convictions must legally make declarations about them, in line with the amended provisions of ROA 1974...
Corporate Crime
PRACTICE NOTES
Sentencing practice and procedure in the magistrates' and Crown Courts (England and Wales): PSRs, deferral (2026 reforms), committal, Newton hearings and the slip rule
This Practice Note outlines sentencing in the magistrates’ court and Crown Court under the Sentencing Act 2020 (SA 2020) (Sentencing Code). The Sentencing Act 2026 (SA 2026), which secured Royal Assent on 22 January 2026, makes extensive amendments to the Code, including raising the maximum period a court may defer sentence from six to 12 months for offenders convicted on or after 22 March 2026.
Will I be sentenced in the magistrates’ or Crown Court?
All criminal cases commence in a magistrates’ court, but only summary-only or either-way offences are sentenced there. For details on allocation and sending, see Practice Notes:
Allocation and sending for trial—sending of cases forthwith to the Crown Court for trial
Allocation and sending—either-way offences not sent forthwith to the Crown Court for trial
Where conviction occurs in the magistrates’ court, magistrates or a district judge will pass a sentence within that court’s general limit. See Practice Note: Sentences imposed following conviction—General limits on magistrates’ courts powers to impose custodial sentences following conviction. If the sentence required exceeds the magistrates’ court’s powers, ...
Corporate Crime
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