Richard Heller

Drystone Chambers

Richard is a specialist practitioner with considerable experience across the spectrum of regulatory crime with an emphasis on trading standards and food safety. His headline practice areas also include health and safety, fraud, planning enforcement and confiscation. He acts for a number of regulators and defends both individuals and businesses.

He has appeared in leading authorities concerning intellectual property crime (R v Brayford [2011] 1 Cr. App. R. (S.) 107), abuse of process and costs (Focus (DIY) v Hillingdon Council [2008] All ER (D) 117), listed building offences (R v Rance [2013] Crim. L.R. 74) and planning enforcement (R v Kohali [2016] 1 Cr. App. R. (S.) 30).

He has acted in some of the most serious cases concerning outbreaks of food-poisoning (three involving fatalities) and in two of the largest prosecutions taken by trading standards services in England, in addition to many other major operations.

He has been instructed by the National Trading Standards Board to advise on the enforcement of new legislation and has spoken at the last seven annual conferences of the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. Richard has lectured and written extensively on his practice areas and has been published in 'Local Government Lawyer', 'Trading Standards Today' and Kingsley Napley's 'The Regulator'.

In 2012, Richard was appointed to the Unified List of Specialist Regulatory Lawyers in Health and Safety and Environmental Law.

Since 2010, Richard has been listed in Chambers & Partners as a leading barrister in Consumer Law where he is commended for 'combining substantial skill with a steady reassuring hand' and for having 'vast technical knowledge'.

Contributed to

3

Hygiene improvement notices under reg 6 of the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013

Practice Notes

This Practice Note explains the meaning and purpose of hygiene improvement notices issued under Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 (FSH(E)R 2013), regulation 6. The Practice Note examines the criteria for issuing a hygiene improvement notice and the guidance provided by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) on when such notices should be used. The note also refers to the Food Law Code of Practice and the Food Law Practice Guidance.

Corporate Crime

Searches under the Food Safety Act 1990

Practice Notes

This Practice Note covers the enforcement powers of a local authority in respect of entering premises to investigate breaches of the Food Safety Act 1990 (FSA 1990). It includes obtaining and executing a warrant to search a premises under the FSA 1990, s 32(2) and additional powers of seizure under the section 50 of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001.

Corporate Crime

Sentencing individuals for food safety and food hygiene offences

Practice Notes

This Practice Note explains the approach the courts take on sentencing individuals for breaches of food safety and food hygiene legislation in accordance with the Sentencing Council’s offence-specific guidelines on food safety and food hygiene offences. It explains the nine step approach to sentencing food safety and food hygiene offences which applies to all offences being sentenced by the criminal courts in England and Wales.

Corporate Crime