Nicola Shannon KC and Joanna Staples successfully prosecute man for causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving.

Nicola Shannon KC and Joanna Staples successfully prosecuted Bilal Tahir, who pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to two counts of causing death by dangerous driving and a further count of causing serious injury following a lengthy investigation by Kent Police into a tragic fatal accident on the M20 in which two women were killed. The scene was not covered by CCTV, but expert analysis of BT’s mobile telephone and the airbag control module of his BMW X5 vehicle revealed his travelling at speed approaching 100 mph in treacherous weather conditions in October 2022. BT was running late for a meeting at the BMW dealership in Maidstone were he worked. Prosecution evidence showed that his excess speed contributed to the car aquaplaning in standing water in the outside lane, which caused him to lose control of the vehicle which went on the collide with the crash barrier and the three victims who were standing on the hard shoulder following an earlier accident. Two of those affected had stopped as ‘Good Samaritans’ to assist the third. Two women were killed at the scene and a third, male, victim suffered life-changing injuries. Ms Shannon KC was assisted at the sentence hearing on 5th June 2026 by Marie de Redman. The judge imposed a total sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment for what he described as a “prolonged, persistent and deliberate course of dangerous driving”, and remarked that he considered that BT had made a deliberate decision to ignore the speed limit so as to make the appointment and that in doing so he disregarded the risk of danger to others.

Counsel were instructed and expertly assisted by Moses Koroma and Katie Quincey of CPS South East.

BBC News story is here