Daniel Irving
- Experience
Daniel is a Barrister and Legal Director in the firm’s Regulatory and Corporate Defence Team. He leads the firm’s Public Inquiries team and has been involved in several of the most high-profile Public Inquiries of the last decade, including the UK Covid-19 Inquiry and the Grenfell Tower Inquiry. He joined Birketts in November 2019 bringing a wealth of experience in a number of practice areas from over ten years at the independent Bar.
Formerly a tenant at Blackfriars Chambers, London, Daniel was called to the Bar in 2007 and offers advice and representation in all areas of corporate and regulatory crime. He appears frequently in the Crown Court and his advisory practice covers the full breadth of regulatory work, with a particular emphasis on financial investigations.
Key Experience & Expertise
- Representing and advising individuals and organisations in Public Inquiries, including the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, the Iraq (‘Chilcot’) Inquiry and the Undercover Policing Inquiry.
- Advising on a breadth of regulatory matters including the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (‘POCA’), FCA enforcement action, HMRC investigations and international financial sanctions.
- Advising on the regulatory and health and safety aspects of the Building Safety Act 2022 and Fire Safety Act 2021 following extensive involvement in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.
- Conducting criminal trials in the Crown Court, including extensive experience handling vulnerable witnesses and defendants.
- Acted for the government in relation to national security related civil litigation and previously instructed by the Government Legal Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Home Office and Ministry of Defence, including in closed material proceedings.
Public Inquiries and Inquests
Daniel has considerable experience advising and representing clients at every stage of many of the most prominent recent Public Inquiries: from the initial request for evidence and/or disclosure, representation at the Inquiry and preparing for giving oral evidence, through to written submissions in relation to the provisional report.
Current instructions include representing a witness to the ongoing UK Covid-19 Inquiry, and he continues to advise and represent a core participant to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, who gave three days of oral evidence at the end of 2020.
As a specialist, his clients benefit from his extensive Public Inquiry experience having represented a former senior Cabinet Minister in his response to the Iraq Inquiry (the ‘Chilcot Inquiry’) and subsequently serving as junior counsel to the ongoing Public Inquiry into undercover policing (‘UCPI’).
He also appears at Coroner’s Inquests and recent instructions include the inquest into the deaths of two young swimmers off Bournemouth beach in May 2023.
Building and Fire Safety
Daniel’s extensive involvement in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry has provided a solid foundation in Building and Fire Safety and he is frequently called upon to advise on recent legislative developments in this area, including the Building Safety Act 2022 and Fire Safety Act 2021. He regularly speaks at conferences and provides training on this subject.
Financial Crime
Daniel advises and represents clients in relation to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (‘POCA’). He appears in confiscation proceedings in the Crown Court and can advise on, and draft, POCA statements on behalf of defendants and “interested persons”. He also advises in relation to civil recovery proceedings including Account Freezing Orders, seizure and forfeiture.
He has advised clients in relation to FCA enforcement action pursuant to the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and on the applicability of US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), EU sanctions, and in relation to the Russia (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.
General crime
Daniel advises and represents clients in the Crown Court in relation to serious criminal offences. His ten years at the independent bar, instructed by both the prosecution and defence, has equipped him with the ability to anticipate and pre-empt the strengths and weaknesses of the other side’s case.
Daniel is recommended by Legal 500 [UK 2021].
