Judge tells the chilling story of the Morecambe Bay cockle pickers gangmasters trial and other famous cases in new book

The judge who played a leading role in some of the UK's most notorious trials including the Morecambe Bay gangmasters and the killing of James Bulger, has published an inside account of the cases.
Sir Richard Henriques QC . Picture Martin Bostock.Sir Richard Henriques QC . Picture Martin Bostock.
Sir Richard Henriques QC . Picture Martin Bostock.

Renowned High Court judge, Sir Richard Henriques, recreates his most famous cases (with plenty of behind the scenes stories) in 'From Crime to Crime' and includes his trenchant views on the state of the British judicial system; how it works - or doesn't - and the current threats to the rule of law that affect us all.

Sir Richard Henriques has been centre stage in some of the most high-profile and notorious cases of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

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After taking silk in 1986, over the course of the next 14 years he appeared in no fewer than 106 murder trials, including prosecuting Harold Shipman, Britain's most prolific serial killer, and the killers of James Bulger.

Unwanted bagged cockles stand in an erie memorial to the Chinese cocklers who perished in Morecambe Bay. Picture: Garth Hamer.Unwanted bagged cockles stand in an erie memorial to the Chinese cocklers who perished in Morecambe Bay. Picture: Garth Hamer.
Unwanted bagged cockles stand in an erie memorial to the Chinese cocklers who perished in Morecambe Bay. Picture: Garth Hamer.

In 2000 he was appointed to the High Court Bench and tried the transatlantic airline plot, the Morecambe Bay cockle pickers, the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes, and many other cases.

He sat in the Court of Appeal on the appeals of Barry George, then convicted of murdering Jill Dando, and Jeremy Bamber, the White House Farm killer.

Sir Richard Henriques was born in Lytham St Annes in 1943 and was educated at Bradfield and Worcester College, Oxford.

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He was called to the Bar in 1967 and practised on the Northern Circuit specialising in crime.

He prosecuted and defended in equal measure.

He was appointed a Recorder in 1983, took Silk in 1986 and was elected Leader of the Northern Circuit in 1995.

He was appointed to the High Court Bench in 2000.

He retired in 2013 but continued to sit in the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) until 2018.

In 2016 he conducted the Independent Review of the Metropolitan Police Service's conduct of Operation Midland.

Sir Richard is married with a son and stepson. #

He and his wife, Toni, live on the Fylde coast.

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Sir Richard is an expert bridge player and an inexpert golfer and gardener.

Sir Richard described the book as, 'not a memoir but an inside account of the 17 most interesting and high-profile cases in which I have been involved. I have written it in order to give an insight into the inner workings of our criminal justice process at a time of fully justified public scrutiny.'

'From Crime to Crime' by Sir Richard Henriques is published by Hodder & Stoughton and is available in hardback at £25, and ebook and audiobook versions.