Rupert Bowers KC

Practice Areas

Financial crime, public law challenges to criminal process, extradition, data protection and information rights, terrorist offences and funding, homicide.

Career

Called 1995

Silk 2015

Professional Memberships

Fraud Lawyers Association

Criminal Bar Association

Publications

Rupert publishes regular articles on a variety of legal topics which are available on Lexology and Passle. He has also been published in various magazines including the Solicitors Journal, Counsel Magazine and The Law Society Gazette and previously wrote commentary for Lloyds Financial Law Reports. Rupert is the author, or a contributing author, to the following practitioner texts:

• Information Rights: A Practitioner’s Guide to Data Protection, Freedom of Information and other Information Rights (Bloomsbury) (2023)–Rupert contributes the chapter relating to investigations and offences together with Simon McKay of counsel.

• Human Rights in Criminal Law (Bloomsbury) (2023) – Rupert contributes the chapter relating to the interception of communications.

• Blackstone’s Guide to the Terrorism Act 2006 (OUP) (2006) – Rupert co-authored with Alun Jones KC and Hugo Lodge of counsel.

Personal

Rupert enjoys music, acting and many sports including skiing, mountaineering, cycling, golf, squash and tennis.

Clients

Rupert has represented a number of high-profile individuals and entities including Harry Redknapp, Jermain Defoe, Lord Hanningfield in the parliamentary expenses case, George Galloway before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, West Ham Utd, James Tomkins, MC Saatchi Merlin, World In Motion Ltd., Ben Thatcher in relation to his FA disciplinary for his tackle on Pedro Mendes, and Dr Edward Wojakovski.

Work Highlights

In silk Rupert has represented Lord Hanningfield who was prosecuted for a second time for fraudulently claiming Parliamentary expenses. The case was dropped because Rupert successfully argued that case fell within the exclusive cognisance of Parliament and the Court had no jurisdiction to try the case.

He represented the former member of parliament George Galloway in a claim in the Investigatory Powers Tribunal against the security services in relation to the bulk interception of data following the revelations made by Edward Snowden regarding US global surveillance programs.

Rupert has many reported cases relating to successful challenges to search warrants and search and seizure operations, which included the successful challenge to the search warrant executed at the home of former football manager Harry Redknapp when facing allegations of fraud.

He is currently instructed to defend in a prosecution alleging espionage under the Official Secrets Act 1911.

Industry Sector Expertise

Rupert is one of the country’s leading experts in challenging search and seizure operations targeting property and information and in challenging asset freezing orders in the criminal and civil courts. He has experience not just of heavy trial and appellate work in the criminal courts, but also vast experience of judicial review and other civil applications and is renowned for his ability to take unusual and difficult cases at the interface between criminal and civil law.

Education