Daniel the MouseInTheCourt
@mouseinthecourt.co.uk
Court Room Mouse who "runs the investigative court reporting blog, Mouse in The Court" - The Times. Open Justice/niche & nuanced (AKA Daniel Cloake)
Full report as retrial sought: mouseinthecourt.co.uk/2026/07/16/v...
Venables Trial Collapses
The jury have been unable to reach a verdict as top tax barrister Robert Venables KC, 78, of Old Square Tax Chambers has faced three counts of dishonestly cheating the public revenue in criminal pr…
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Daniel the MouseInTheCourt@mouseinthecourt.co.uk · 2mo ago🚨VENABLES TRIAL COLLAPSES🚨 The jury have been discharged in the case of R v Robert Venables KC as they are unable to reach a verdict on any of the three counts More info to follow
🚨VENABLES TRIAL COLLAPSES🚨 The jury have been discharged in the case of R v Robert Venables KC as they are unable to reach a verdict on any of the three counts More info to follow
Mr Justice Calver asks jury to: "have a private discussion" and answer "whether, given more time, there is any reasonable prospect of you reaching a verdict, on which at least nine of you are agreed on any of the three counts, and if so, which?"
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt@mouseinthecourt.co.uk · 2mo ago"I’m sorry today has been wasted" says judge as unwell juror means no deliberations can occur today Jury sent home at 12.32 and told to return 10am tomorrow unless they are told otherwise
"I’m sorry today has been wasted" says judge as unwell juror means no deliberations can occur today Jury sent home at 12.32 and told to return 10am tomorrow unless they are told otherwise
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt@mouseinthecourt.co.uk · 2mo agoVenables jury down to 10 The jury in the case of R v Venables KC has lost another member after Mr Justice Calver discharged a second juror, at the end of their eighth day of deliberations. mouseinthecourt.co.uk/2026/07/14/v...
Venables jury down to 10 The jury in the case of R v Venables KC has lost another member after Mr Justice Calver discharged a second juror, at the end of their eighth day of deliberations. mouseinthecourt.co.uk/2026/07/14/v...
Venables jury down to 10
Top tax barrister Robert Venables KC, 78, of Old Square Tax Chambers is currently facing three counts of dishonestly cheating the public revenue in criminal proceedings before a jury at Southwark C…
mouseinthecourt.co.uk
As Mr Justice Dexter Dias is swearing in a jury an incredibly loud klaxon style alarm sounds from a handbag. "Ok, that wasn’t part of the procedure" remarks the judge, prompting laughter from the 22 potential members as it is swiftly turned off
The jury have been sent home for the day (at 4.06pm) and asked to return at 9.30am tomorrow. Judge told them he has just received another jury note and "I'll need some time to consider that overnight"
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt@mouseinthecourt.co.uk · 2mo ago"It has become clear that a serious problem has arisen between you" - Judge urges jury to be respectful as tensions rise in Tax KC trial "Any form of bullying... is completely unacceptable and must not happen" mouseinthecourt.co.uk/2026/07/09/i...
"It has become clear that a serious problem has arisen between you" - Judge urges jury to be respectful as tensions rise in Tax KC trial "Any form of bullying... is completely unacceptable and must not happen" mouseinthecourt.co.uk/2026/07/09/i...
“It has become clear that a serious problem has arisen between you” – Judge urges jury to be respectful
Top tax barrister Robert Venables KC, 78, of Old Square Tax Chambers is currently facing three counts of dishonestly cheating the public revenue in criminal proceedings before a jury at Southwark C…
mouseinthecourt.co.uk
New: Mr Justice Calver has given the jury a majority direction. A minimum of 10 jurors, out of the 12, must agree to form a verdict
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt@mouseinthecourt.co.uk · 2mo agoJury told there is "no time pressure upon you whatsoever" as Mr Justice Calver instructs them to continue deliberating today
Jury told there is "no time pressure upon you whatsoever" as Mr Justice Calver instructs them to continue deliberating today
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt@mouseinthecourt.co.uk · 2mo agoNo verdicts this week! Jury were sent home at 13.30 and told to return 10am Monday. "Please don’t do any research on the case over the weekend" warned Mr Justice Calver
"We can’t provide a judge...I'm sorry to the parties, in particular the defendant and the complainant" - HHJ Tony Baumgartner, senior judge at Southwark, as man facing three counts of rape has 5-day trial adjourned until February 2027 Alleged crime took place in Aug 2024
No verdicts this week! Jury were sent home at 13.30 and told to return 10am Monday. "Please don’t do any research on the case over the weekend" warned Mr Justice Calver
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt@mouseinthecourt.co.uk · 2mo agoJury to consider verdicts as the trial of KC accused of dodging £2m in tax comes to an end We are exclusively publishing the legal directions and route to verdict as the jury in Robert Venables KC are expected to retire to consider their verdicts Full report mouseinthecourt.co.uk/2026/07/02/j...
This remains a fascinating and underreported case. It is also nice to be able to read the Judge's directions to the jury: this is the sort of material that is often lost.
Daniel the MouseInTheCourt@mouseinthecourt.co.uk · 2mo agoJury to consider verdicts as the trial of KC accused of dodging £2m in tax comes to an end We are exclusively publishing the legal directions and route to verdict as the jury in Robert Venables KC are expected to retire to consider their verdicts Full report mouseinthecourt.co.uk/2026/07/02/j...
Jury to consider verdicts as the trial of KC accused of dodging £2m in tax comes to an end We are exclusively publishing the legal directions and route to verdict as the jury in Robert Venables KC are expected to retire to consider their verdicts Full report mouseinthecourt.co.uk/2026/07/02/j...
Jury to consider verdicts as the trial of KC accused of dodging £2m in tax comes to an end
Top tax barrister Robert Venables KC, 78, of Old Square Tax Chambers is currently facing three counts of dishonestly cheating the public revenue in criminal proceedings before a jury at Southwark C…
mouseinthecourt.co.uk
Top tax KC gave speech about HMRC: "don’t despair, don’t give in, call their bluff", jury told Slightly belated post. The full report available below: mouseinthecourt.co.uk/2026/06/13/t...
Top tax KC gave speech about HMRC: “don’t despair, don’t give in, call their bluff”, jury told
Top tax barrister Robert Venables KC, 78, of Old Square Tax Chambers is currently facing three counts of dishonestly cheating the public revenue in criminal proceedings before a jury at Southwark C…
mouseinthecourt.co.uk
"The key question to you, members of the jury, is what was the defendant's state of mind at the relevant time" Calver J is on day 2 of summing up the evidence in the case of R v Venables KC at Southwark Crown Court
Someone has taken a photograph of the judge in court 1 at Southwark Not during a hearing ... but as a group from the "10,000 Black Interns Programme" have a session with three CJ's "I can’t tell you how many knockback and rejection letters I have had in my life" said one HHJ
"If open justice does not follow the documents, it risks becoming an illusion rather than a reality." Just weeks after that warning from Mr Justice Nicklin, HMCTS announced a 27% increase in fees for obtaining court documents. Full report: mouseinthecourt.co.uk/2026/06/22/e...
‘Essential feature of open justice’ to rise in price by 27%, HMCTS announce
The cost of obtaining copies of core court documents are increasing significantly notwithstanding repeated judicial statements stressing that meaningful public understanding of the justice system d…
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Tax KC’s ‘private working notes’ were attempt to ‘pull the wool over the eyes of HMRC’, jury told Tax law, trust law, and even the founding date of Merton College. Day seven of Robert Venables KC's evidence had a bit of everything mouseinthecourt.co.uk/2026/06/22/t...
Tax KC’s ‘private working notes’ were attempt to ‘pull the wool over the eyes of HMRC’, jury told
Top tax barrister Robert Venables KC, 78, of Old Square Tax Chambers is currently facing three counts of dishonestly cheating the public revenue in criminal proceedings before a jury at Southwark C…
mouseinthecourt.co.uk
You join me, on this slow news day, back at Southwark Crown Court, where Robert Venables KC is still giving evidence...
27% - the percentage increase in the price for the public to obtain documents deployed in the civil courts (Claim form, defence, orders, etc) Fee rising to £14 per document (was £11) from 13th July 2026 www.gov.uk/government/n...
Court and tribunal fees: updates from July 2026
The Ministry of Justice plans to make a series of changes to court and tribunal fees payable in HM Courts and Tribunals Service.
gov.uk
Convicted. Banned. But still fighting Two brothers who ran P2P firm Collateral have received a prohibition from the city regulator, as one of the pair says their conviction is unsafe Full report: mouseinthecourt.co.uk/2026/06/19/c...
Currie brothers given ban by FCA as fresh appeal attempt launched
Convicted. Banned. But still fighting: Two brothers who were found guilty of offences in relation to a crowd-funded investment platform have received a prohibition from the city regulator, as one o…
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SovCit style website must pay man £23k after he completed their so-called “No Obligation Challenge”, court rules “The Defendant's views are, of course, complete legal nonsense” said DDJ Blitz www.bailii.org/ew/cases/Mis...
Transcripts from two interviews held under caution have been published after jurors heard tax barrister Robert Venables KC tell HMRC investigators they had a "complete misunderstanding" of trust law and suggest they seek advice from someone "far more competent" mouseinthecourt.co.uk/2026/06/02/r...
R v Venables KC: The HMRC Interviews: “wouldn’t it be wonderful if tax law were always simple and logical”
Top tax barrister Robert Venables KC, 78, of Old Square Tax Chambers is currently facing three counts of dishonestly cheating the public revenue in criminal proceedings before a jury at Southwark C…
mouseinthecourt.co.uk
The agreed facts deployed at the trial of Robert Venables KC have been published… mouseinthecourt.co.uk/2026/06/05/r...
R v Venables KC: The Agreed Facts
Top tax barrister Robert Venables KC, 78, of Old Square Tax Chambers is currently facing three counts of dishonestly cheating the public revenue in criminal proceedings before a jury at Southwark C…
mouseinthecourt.co.uk
Tax KC Robert Venables tells jury of humble beginnings, Oxford education and legal career as he gives evidence in his alleged tax fraud trial at Southwark Crown Court Full report: mouseinthecourt.co.uk/2026/06/10/t...
Top Tax KC: “I’ve been cancelled” as jury told of humble beginnings
Top tax barrister Robert Venables KC, 78, of Old Square Tax Chambers is currently facing three counts of dishonestly cheating the public revenue in criminal proceedings before a jury at Southwark C…
mouseinthecourt.co.uk
Robert Venables KC has entered the witness box as the defence case opens. Venables is accused of three counts of cheating the public revenue contrary to Common Law and denies wrongdoing
Jurors have been shown correspondence between Robert Venables KC and HMRC, including complaints about "menacing" letters, allegations of "bullying tactics", and references to potential defamation claims. We've published the documents and highlighted key passages mouseinthecourt.co.uk/2026/06/09/h...
HMRC’s ‘menacing’ correspondence meets Tax KC’s threats of defamation, jury hears
Top tax barrister Robert Venables KC, 78, of Old Square Tax Chambers is currently facing three counts of dishonestly cheating the public revenue in criminal proceedings before a jury at Southwark C…
mouseinthecourt.co.uk
Prosecution case closes in the matter of R v Robert Venables KC Mr Justice Calver tells the jury that they should "take a break, as there's a number of legal issues to discuss among the lawyers and myself" They have been told to return at 2pm on Wednesday