Benjamin Knight

Benjamin Knight, formerly a solicitor, has worked in legal Manchester since 2004.

His Crown Court practice at Central Chambers sees him defend in cases of murder, attempted rape and other serious sexual offences, serious fraud, firearms, aggravated burglary, and child cruelty.

Ben has experience both as lone junior and led junior in the Court of Appeal and High Court.

Ben has always demonstrated his commitment to the underprivileged and disadvantaged. Frequently, he provides pro bono advice to solicitors in such cases involving youths and those with mental health problems.

He represented a convicted murderer against the Secretary of State for Education to allow him to teach
illiterate adults and succeeded in overturning the State's decision in what the Tribunal found to be a complex
and “exceptional case”. This 2010 case demonstrates the “heavy-weight” legal nature of some of Ben’s
work.

In addition to his Crown Court practice, he has dealt with a number of Judicial Review matters related to
prison law and has appeared before the Parole Board on many occasions.

Many solicitors select Ben to deal with cases where mental health is a key feature. He has also appeared
before the Mental Health Tribunal in prison law matters.

Notable cases from the last 12 months include:

R v Connor Martin [2013] EWCA Crim 2565 - discussed on the show here.
R v BG - large scale drugs supply conspiracy;
R v JD - section 18 assault
R v BN - drugs trafficking
R v BG – alleged attempted rape by a defendant with severe mental health problems;
R v LD - firearms possession in Merseyside
R v S – a near fatality child cruelty case involving methadone and fractured bones;
R v Maughan & Others [2012] EWCA Crim 1037 – a multi-handed youth appeal where the Court of Appeal was obliged to restate the governing principles of youth sentencing;
R v Ashley Hartley – a SOCA drug trafficking and production matter;
R v Griffiths – a Teeside case involving sophisticated conspiracy to high-value theft from the Ministry of
Defence;
R v CH - a £30m proceeds of crime matter;

Career

Called 2004, Middle Temple.
Category Two Prosecutor
Occasional advocacy tutor at Manchester Met. University Law School

Member 
Legal Action Group

Education 
Sheffield Hallam University - LLB (Hons.)
Universite de Paris XII - Maitrise en droit francais
BPP - QLTT

Leisure 
Ice Hockey publisher and podcaster (English Premier League); musician

If you fancy listening to Ben's other show on the Northpod network, click on the image below.