Sir David Napley (25 July 1915 – 24 September 1994) was an English solicitor.

Background

David Napley was born in London of Jewish ancestry. He began his articles (the equivalent of a modern-day

training contract A training contract is a compulsory period of practical training in a law firm for law graduates before they can qualify as a solicitor in the United Kingdom (UK), the Republic of Ireland, Australia or Hong Kong, or as an advocate and solicitor ...

) in 1935 at age 16. He passed his final examinations with honours two years later and in 1937 immediately set up in partnership with Sidney Kingsley, establishing internationally recognised law firm Kingsley Napley. The firm quickly established a good reputation. Over the years his clients included

Jeremy Thorpe John Jeremy Thorpe (29 April 1929 – 4 December 2014) was a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament for North Devon from 1959 to 1979, and as leader of the Liberal Party from 1967 to 1976. In May 1979 he was tried at the ...

, Princess Michael of Kent, actress

Maria Aitken Maria Penelope Katharine Aitken (born 12 September 1945) is an English theatre director, teacher, actress, and writer. Early life and career Aitken was born in Dublin, Ireland, the daughter of Sir William Aitken, a Conservative MP, and Penelo ...

, the Foreign Office clerk

Sarah Tisdall Sarah Caroline Tisdall (born 1960 in Plymouth) is a former Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) clerical officer who was jailed for leaking British government documents to a newspaper in 1983. Tisdall anonymously sent ''The Guardian'' photocopi ...

, former member of parliament

Harvey Proctor Keith Harvey Proctor (born 16 January 1947) is a British former Conservative Member of Parliament. A member of the Monday Club, he represented Basildon from 1979 to 1983 and Billericay from 1983 to 1987. Proctor became embroiled in a scandal i ...

, the Queen's bodyguard Commander Michael Trestrail, the family of the Italian banker

Roberto Calvi Roberto Calvi (13 April 1920 – 17 June 1982) was an Italian banker, dubbed "God's Banker" () by the press because of his close association with the Holy See. He was a native of Milan and was chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, which collapsed in ...

and musician Adam "Ad-Rock" Horowitz from the Beastie Boys. During the Second World War he served in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

with the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) and was demobilised as a captain. On his return from the War he resumed practice as a solicitor and married his fiancée, Leah Rose Saturley, two years his junior. The couple lived in

Mill Hill Mill Hill is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, England. It is situated around northwest of Charing Cross. Mill Hill was in the historic county of Middlesex until 1965, when it became part of Greater London. Its population counted 18,45 ...

, in North-West

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

for many years. The couple had two daughters, Anne Rosemary Josephine (born 14 August 1946) and Penelope Susan (born 28 October 1949). Napley ran unsuccessful parliamentary campaigns as

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

candidate in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

( Rowley Regis and Tipton) and 1955 (

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

). From 1968 to 1977 he was chairman of Mario and Franco Restaurants.

Miscarriages of justice

Napley had a particular interest in miscarriages of justice. He was instrumental in setting up JUSTICE'S Annual Tom Sargant Memorial lecture and gave the first lecture in 1989. In that lecture he called for an independent tribunal to deal with miscarriage of justice cases. Partly as a result of Napley's reputation and wide-ranging influence, the

Criminal Cases Review Commission The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) is the statutory body responsible for investigating alleged miscarriages of justice in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. It was established by Section 8 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 and bega ...

was eventually established 14 years later. Napley worked on several suspected miscarriages of justice cases, including the

one-armed bandit murder The one-armed bandit murder was a criminal case in the north east of England. The case involved the murder of Angus Sibbet in 1967. The following trial resulted in life sentences for Dennis Stafford and Michael Luvaglio. Both men were released on li ...

case in the early seventies (which inspired the film ''

Get Carter ''Get Carter'' is a 1971 British crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detecti ...

'') and the Jock Russell case in 1982. Napley took the one-armed bandit murder case to the Court of Appeal twice and finally to the House of Lords. Napley also played a leading part in the formation of the British Academy of Forensic Sciences, which supports research into miscarriages of justice. From 1963, Napley was chairman of the Law Society's Standing Committee on Criminal Law. From 1971 he served on the

Criminal Law Revision Committee The Criminal Law Revision Committee of England & Wales was a standing committee of learned legal experts that was called upon by the Home Secretary to advise on legal issues and to report back recommendations for reform. While never formally abolish ...

. He was vice-president of the

Law Society of England and Wales The Law Society of England and Wales (officially The Law Society) is the professional association that represents solicitors for the jurisdiction of England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors, as ...

from 1975 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 1977. Napley was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1977. In the same year he went to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

as an independent observer at the inquest into the death of

Steve Biko Bantu Stephen Biko (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he was at the forefront of a grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known ...

. In 1981, Napley reacted angrily to questions in Parliament because his client, Sir Peter Hayman was not being prosecuted despite having exchanged photos of children through the post. On 26 March 1981 Napley claimed that the decision not to prosecute his client was based on

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Sir

Sir Michael Havers Robert Michael Oldfield Havers, Baron Havers (10 March 1923 – 1 April 1992), was a British barrister and Conservative politician. From his knighthood in 1972 until becoming a peer in 1987 he was known as Sir Michael Havers. Early life and m ...

's decision to apply what Napley termed 'a customary factor' when deciding whether to prosecute a public figure: This assertion, whereby the more famous the accused, the less likely they would be prosecuted for any offence, including child abuse offences, due to the steep loss of reputation they would suffer as a result, was questioned by the parliamentary journalist Ronald Butt as the corruption of the rule of law, and a "two tier system" as to who was subject to the law.

Working relationship with George Carman

Napley was involved in raising the profile of the barrister

George Carman George Alfred Carman, QC (6 October 1929 – 2 January 2001) was an English leading barrister during the 1980s and 1990s. In 1979, he successfully defended the former Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe after he was charged with conspiracy to murder. ...

. For many years, Carman was a well-respected barrister on the

Northern Circuit {{Use dmy dates, date=November 2019 The Northern Circuit is a court circuit in England. It dates from 1176 when Henry II sent his judges on circuit to do justice in his name. The Circuit encompassed the whole of the North of England but in 1876 i ...

but was relatively unknown in London. However, in November 1973, two years after Carman became a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

, Napley saw him at the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

defending a manager of Battersea Funfair. The man was charged with the manslaughter of four children after the Big Dipper collapsed. Carman secured a verdict of not guilty. At the time, Napley said "It seemed to me the jury were mesmerised." Napley determined to make further use of Carman; this was only the start of a long professional relationship between them. Carman was still based in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, however, and Napley briefed him only occasionally during the 1970s. However, in June 1978 Napley telephoned Carman to tell him that the former leader of the

Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two Major party, major List of political parties in the United Kingdom, political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party, in the 19th and early 20th centuries. ...

, was probably going to be committed for trial on charges of conspiracy to murder and that he was going to retain him. Thorpe was charged on 4 August 1978, resulting in a legal case that made Carman a household name. In addition to retaining Carman to defend Thorpe, Napley also instructed him to advise Princess Michael of Kent; to defend

Leonard Arthur Leonard John Henry Arthur (20 April 1926 – 25 December 1983) was a British doctor tried in the 1981 case of ''R v Arthur'', for the attempted murder of John Pearson, a newborn child with Down's syndrome. He was acquitted. An important test case ...

in a trial where the paediatrician was acquitted of murdering a Down's syndrome baby; to defend actress

on charges of cocaine possession, and to represent the Calvi family in the inquest of the Italian banker,

. In 1991, Napley retained Carman to advise on a defence case for

Greville Janner Greville Ewan Janner, Baron Janner of Braunstone, (11 July 1928 – 19 December 2015) was a British politician, barrister and writer. He became a Labour Party Member of Parliament for Leicester in the 1970 general election as a last-minute ...

, later Lord Janner, if charges had been brought against him.Jay Rayne
"I saw up close how an establishment closed ranks over the Janner affair"
''The Observer'', 18 April 2015

Death

Napley died on 24 September 1994 from cancer in hospital in

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, after an eight-week illness. Carman delivered the eulogy at his memorial service, attended by, among others,

Baroness Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

Works

* ''The Technique of Persuasion'' (1971): a work on advocacy and case preparation. * ''Not Without Prejudice'' (1982): Napley's memoirs. * ''Murder at the Villa Madeira: The Rattenbury Case'' (1988) * ''The Camden Town Murder'' (1987)

References

External links

*http://www.kingsleynapley.co.uk/about/history *http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/sir-david-napley-1.483443 {{DEFAULTSORT:Napley, David 1915 births 1994 deaths Lawyers from London Queen's Royal Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War II English solicitor advocates Presidents of the Law Society of England and Wales English Jews Knights Bachelor Lawyers awarded knighthoods Steve Biko affair 20th-century English lawyers Conservative Party (UK) parliamentary candidates