MEET OUR TEAM
Ian Hislop
Ian Hislop has been the editor of Private Eye for nearly 40 years. The Eye has always given prominence to miscarriage of justice cases from longstanding cases such as the Bridgwater Four, Tony Stock, Sam Hallam, to the post office scandal today. Ian has also been a Team Captain on Have I Got News For You since its inception in 1990.
Dame Emma Thompson DBE
Award-winning actor, writer and activist Emma Thompson played solicitor Gareth Peirce in the film In the Name of the Father, based on the true story of the Guildford Four, four people wrongly convicted of the 1974 Guildford pub bombings. Since then Emma has been a passionate supporter of those fighting against miscarriages of justice. In addition to her support of APPEAL, Emma is chair of the Helen Bamber Foundation, a patron of the Refugee Council and an active Greenpeace supporter.
Photo credit: © Chris Levine and Sphere9 Ltd. All rights reserved DACS 2024
Charlie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton, PC, KC
Charlie Falconer is a barrister, former Lord Chancellor (2003-2007), and King’s Counsel. He is also a partner at the law firm Gibson Dunn.
Michael Mansfield KC
Michael Mansfield KC, Head of Nexus Chambers, has been involved in helping overturn some of the most notorious miscarriages of justice. These include the Guildford 4, the Birmingham 6, the Orgreave miners, the Tottenham 3, Bridgewater 4 and the Cardiff 5. He also represented the family of Stephen Lawrence. His most recent book is The Power in the People, Not the People in Power (Monoray, 2023).
Winston Trew
Winston Trew spent nearly 50 years fighting to clear his name. He was fitted up by one of Britain’s most racist corrupt cops. You can read his story in his co-authored book with Graham Satchwell, Rot at the Core (The History Press, 2021).
Emma Torr
Co-Director
Emma is a Barrister and APPEAL’s Co-Director working alongside Matt Foot. Emma is a fearless advocate who fights for individuals who have suffered serious miscarriages of justice, working closely with APPEAL’s specialist investigators to uncover fresh evidence and overturn convictions through the CCRC and, ultimately, the Court of Appeal.
Prior to joining APPEAL in September 2020, Emma worked for over 15 years as a criminal defence barrister. Previously practising at One Pump Court Chambers, before moving in-house to work in a specialist firm of criminal defence lawyers. Her practice encompassed a broad range of serious criminal offences, developing an expertise in representing women and the most vulnerable and marginalised in society.
Bfore practising as a Barrister, Emma worked at Public Concern at work (now Protect), the whistleblowing charity.
Emma holds a LLB (Hons) in Law and was awarded the Jules Thorn Scholarship from the Honourable Society of Middle Temple. She was called ot the Bar in 2001.
Emma is a committee member of the Criminal Appeals Lawyers Association and the Bar Council’s Pro Bono and Social Responsibility Committee and the Employed Barristers’ Committee.
Emma is an Honorary Legal Fellow of the University of East London. This June, Emma was shortlisted for the 2024 Employed Bar Awards.
Matt Foot
Co-Director
Matt is APPEAL’s Co-Director, leading aspects of both the law practice and charity alongside Emma Torr. He is a solicitor. Matt has previously worked as a defence solicitor at the law firm Birnberg Peirce for more than 17 years, building a reputation as one of the country’s top miscarriage of justice lawyers and acting in a number of high-profile criminal appeals, including those of Sam Hallam and Eddie Gilfoyle, as well as specialising in protest cases.
Alongside his legal practice, Matt has established himself as a leading voice in the fight to make the system fairer for those at the sharp end of criminal justice. Most recently he co-authored Charged: How the Police Try to Suppress Protest – an investigation into violent and authoritarian police tactics. Previously he co-led the campaign to protect legal aid, co-founding Justice Alliance; and to review the use of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs).
Matt has written extensively in the media, including in the Guardian and the London Review of Books.
Photo Credit: Jess Hurd
Nadiyah Akoo
Resource Development and Operations Lead
Nadiyah is APPEAL’s Resource Development and Operations Lead, working on grant applications, crowdfunding and other income generation, as well as supporting Co-Directors with all operational aspects of running APPEAL.
Graduating with a BSc in Business Management and Marketing, Nadiyah worked in the higher education marketing sector before joining an inner London secondary school and sixth form where she worked as a School Business Manager, leading on all operations including premises and facilities, marketing, administration, catering, IT, HR and finance.
Aware of the miscarriages of justice faced by many in the UK, Nadiyah has a personal motivation in contributing to the work of APPEAL.
Claire Bostock
Solicitor
Claire is a solicitor and joined the team at APPEAL in January 2024.
Prior to joining APPEAL, Claire worked for over two decades as a criminal defence practitioner at a leading criminal firm of solicitors in London. As well as undertaking a range of legally aided trial and other work in the Magistrates’ and Crown Courts, she developed a specialist appellate practice, challenging convictions and sentences before the Court of Appeal, Criminal Division and submitting applications to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Claire has been recognised as a leading criminal appeals specialists in legal directories, such as in Legal 500 2023 where feedback included:
“Claire Bostock is an exceptionally knowledgeable and vastly experienced criminal appeal solicitor. She works incredibly hard for each client.“
Claire has particular expertise in representing individuals who have severe mental health difficulties and acting for other vulnerable people including women, young adults and children
Claire is a committee member of the Criminal Appeals Lawyers Association and London Criminal Courts Solicitors’ Association.
Emily Bolton
Lawyer and Founder
Emily is APPEAL’s founder. Her casework focuses on challenges to unsafe convictions and on achieving access to evidence. She also engages in broader public advocacy directed at criminal justice reform. Emily is a practicing solicitor in England and Wales, and formerly an attorney-at-law in the State of Louisiana.
After graduation from law school, Emily was awarded an Equal Justice Fellowship and later a Soros Advocacy Fellowship to establish Innocence Project New Orleans (IPNO), a non-profit law office providing legal representation to the wrongfully convicted in the United States. IPNO grew from a staff of one to nine during her tenure, and has so far freed 46 innocent prisoners. Returning to the UK in 2004, Emily helped develop the UK legal action charity Reprieve of which she is a co-founder.
Emily then received an Unltd* Award and a Shackleton Leadership Award to work on establishing APPEAL.
Emily holds a J.D. from Tulane University School of Law, where she graduated cum laude in 1999.
James Burley
Investigator
James is an Investigator at APPEAL working on cases at the CCRC and Court of Appeal levels, as well as on evidence access challenges in the Administrative Court.
Prior to joining APPEAL in March 2016, James interned at the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center in New Orleans, helping to investigate pre-trial death penalty cases with a particular focus on using public records law to obtain records.
Before this James volunteered on the death penalty team at Reprieve as a researcher. He has also worked at Skoob Books, and was news editor of London Student.
James has a BA in philosophy from University College London and holds an Advanced Professional Certificate in Investigative Practice.
Tara Casey
Women’s Justice Lawyer
Tara is APPEAL’s Women’s Justice Lawyer, working on individual cases at the CCRC and Court of Appeal levels, and contributing to campaign efforts. She qualified as an attorney in the State of New York, USA in October 2022, and as a solicitor in England and Wales in November 2023.
Tara has previously worked as a student attorney at the Capital Punishment Clinic at the University of Texas at Austin and the Family Law/Domestic Violence Clinic at the Legal Services Center at Harvard Law School.
She has also volunteered for the Clann Project and Justice for Magdalenes Research in Ireland, two organisations which campaign for effective redress for women and children who were institutionalised in industrial laundries and mother and baby homes throughout the twentieth century.
Following completion of an L.L.M. , Tara joined APPEAL as a Fellow in August 2019 having been awarded the Kaufman Fellowship by Harvard Law School.
Lizzie Norton
Solicitor
Lizzie completed her training contract as APPEAL’s Justice First Fellow, awarded by the Legal Education Foundation. She works on wrongful conviction cases before the Criminal Cases Review Commission and the Court of Appeal.
Before joining APPEAL, Lizzie was a paralegal at Hickman & Rose, where her casework focused on police misconduct. She worked on civil litigation arising from the criminal justice system, inquests and inquiries, as well as data challenges including criminal record deletions. Prior to that she was a paralegal at the Infected Blood Inquiry.
She produced APPEAL’s Surviving Injustice podcast as an intern in 2018.
Lizzie studied law at the University of Nottingham and completed her Legal Practice Course at BPP.
Nisha Waller
Racial Justice Lead
Nisha lead’s APPEAL’s work on racial justice which aims to raise awareness of and challenge discriminatory practices in the criminal justice system. Her work primarily involves conducting and overseeing the development of research.
Alongside her work at APPEAL, Nisha is a PhD candidate at the University of Oxford. Her PhD research investigates racialised processes of prosecution in the context of ‘joint enterprise’, particularly focusing on the experiences of young Black men.
Nisha also holds an MSc in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Oxford, and a BA in Sociology and Criminology from the University of Westminster.
Sue Beere
Survivor Advocacy Co-Lead
Sue is a Survivor Advocate at APPEAL, supporting Bound by Injustice (BBI), a community made up of APPEAL clients and their loved ones. With Cath Snow, she develops opportunities for BBI members to share their experiences of miscarriages of justice and campaign for change in the criminal justice system, as well as providing pastoral support.
Sue previously worked in a primary school for 22 years. She worked as a Family Liaison Officer supporting families and children whilst also overseeing the school’s Nurture Group which encourages children to develop their emotional and social skills. She is qualified in ELSA (Emotional Literacy Support), WWP (Working With Parents) Behaviour and Attendance.
Sue not only has professional experience of supporting prisoners’ families but also has personal experience – for 11 years her husband served a 24 year sentence for a wrongful conviction. Sue is an active member of APPEAL’s Bound By Injustice community.
During the early years of her husband’s sentence, Sue volunteered for a local Barnardo’s project, Community Support for Offender’s Families (CSOF) where she co-facilitated training to professionals across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. The training raised awareness of the impact on families of the justice system and gave professionals tools with which to support children and families.
Sue has shared her husband’s story across various media channels over the years including on Victoria Derbyshire Programme, podcasts, and news articles.
Cath Snow
Survivor Advocacy Co-Lead
Cath is a Survivor Advocate at APPEAL, supporting Bound by Injustice (BBI), the community made up of APPEAL clients and their loved ones. With Sue Beere, she develops opportunities for BBI members to share their experiences of miscarriages of justice and campaign for change in the criminal justice system, as well as providing pastoral support.
Prior to joining APPEAL, Cath worked as a facilitator and caseworker for StandOut, delivering courses in prisons and supporting men post-release. An experienced Art and Theatre practitioner, Cath planned and delivered issue-based, trauma-informed workshops in schools, colleges, secure care homes, mental health hospitals, and women’s prisons.
Cath Studied Drama at the University of Manchester, where she first encountered those affected by the UK prison system through a facilitation course called ‘Theatre in Prisons and Probation’. After graduating she pursued work in the Arts in the Criminal Justice sector whilst volunteering for Trafford Rape Crisis & The Mustard Tree, a charity that supports vulnerable and homeless adults.
Cath completed her MSc in Criminal Justice Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Charlotte Threipland
Communications & Policy Lead
As APPEAL’s Communications and Policy Lead, Charlotte uses the systemic injustices exposed by our casework to build awareness of miscarriages of justice among the media and policy makers and drive forward our campaigns.
Charlotte is a lawyer, writer and researcher, using her legal knowledge and investigation skills, alongside the power of storytelling, to expose practices and policies that undermine the integrity of the UK justice system.
She was founder and Editor of openJustice, part of openDemocracy, where she produced and commissioned articles, podcasts and videos relating to justice and social change. In her role as Communications and Research Consultant at the social justice law firm Commons, Charlotte was involved in successfully campaigning against a criminal justice policy that had a disproportionate impact on minority ethnic groups.
She started her career as an intern and then Fellow at the Louisiana Capital Assistance Center, working on the cases of people facing the death penalty in Louisiana, USA. After working in the criminal department at Bindmans LLP, she qualified as a solicitor at Matthew Gold, a London-based civil liberties law firm in 2014.
Charlotte has an MA in Philosophy from the University of Edinburgh.
Tehreem Sultan
Racial Justice Researcher
Tehreem is APPEAL’s Racial Justice Researcher, working on men’s intake casework and on racial justice work to raise awareness of and challenge discriminatory practices in the criminal justice system. She was called to the Bar of England and Wales in October 2023.
Tehreem completed her LL.M. at Harvard Law School specialising in criminal and international human rights law. She worked as a student attorney for Harvard Prisons Legal Assistance Project representing prisoners in parole board and disciplinary hearings in Massachusetts and for Harvard Advocates for Human Rights. Tehreem previously worked at the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court on a number of State investigations. Her work is motivated by her experience of the justice system in different jurisdictions including the Middle East and South Asia.
Tehreem has volunteered for organisations including Amnesty International, Amicus UK, and was the Director for the award-winning prison debating scheme, Vocalise. She writes frequently on human rights issues as an author for the UK Human Rights Blog and the Oxford Human Rights Hub.
Fatou Kane
Finance Manager
As APPEAL’s freelance finance manager, Fatou oversees the management of financial records and the payroll. Fatou holds a BSc in Business Information Systems, and Accounting and Finance and she is an ACCA affiliate. She has worked in the non profit sector for over 10 years.
Joe Hingston
Chair of Trustees
Christopher David
Trustee
Chris is a solicitor and Partner at Clifford Chance. He specialises in white collar crime, including allegations of fraud, bribery and corruption, insider dealing or money laundering. In his role at APPEAL, Chris focuses on engaging other major law firms in working on a pro bono basis on APPEAL’s cases.
Margaret Obi
Trustee
Margaret has been a Deputy High Court Judge since 2018. She is a solicitor and former partner in a leading criminal defence practice. She has extensive experience of a wide range of criminal allegations including murder, complex fraud and grave sexual offences. In 2014 she left private practice to become an independent legal consultant. Her work includes advising in relation to investigations undertaken by the Serious Fraud Office and the National Crime Agency. She also advises international legal teams defending allegations of war crimes in the International Criminal Court. She is an independent legal assessor and Legally Qualified Chair for various statutory bodies. She is currently a member of the Law Society’s Women Lawyers Division and the author of two practitioner books on prison law.
Mair Williams
Trustee
Mair is a practicing barrister in England and Wales and has been called to the bar in California. She is a member of Latham & Watkins’ white collar and investigations team and regularly provides advice and representation to individuals and companies in all areas related to financial crime and compliance. Before becoming a Trustee, Mair worked on a number of cases and initiatives with APPEAL.
Jacob Bindman
Trustee
Jacob is a barrister at Garden Court Chambers specialising in serious crime, financial crime and national security. Jacobs practice also covers extradition, protest and related public and international law. He has previously worked as a Judicial Assistant at the Supreme Court and as a fellow at the Centre for Constitutional Rights in New York. Jacob was previously an Executive Committee member of the Bar Human Rights Committee for whom he visited the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in 2020. Jacob retains a longstanding interest in miscarriages of justice and issues arising from the War on Terror.
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APPEAL is the working name of the Centre for Criminal Appeals, a Charitable Company Limited By Guarantee and a law practice authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Registered Charity Number: 1144162 | SRA Authorisation Number: 621184 | Company Number: 7556168