Jemima Lovatt

Awards

Lord Denning & Lord Brougham Scholarships from the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn
Associate Fellow of the Royal Commonwealth Society
Society Shield Award from the University of London

Publications

“Legal Privilege in Light of SFO v ENRC”, Lincoln’s Inn Law Journal.

Memberships

UKELA
JUSTICE

Appointments

• Attorney-General’s Regulatory List of Counsel (B List)

Notable Cases

Criminal Law

R v AG (Woolwich Crown Court)
Successfully defended AG who was charged with robbery. The entire incident was captured on CCTV. The trial turned on the identification evidence given by a Police Officer who had stopped and searched the defendant 15 days prior, and who identified him in the CCTV based on his facial features and distinctive clothing. Following Jemima’s cross-examination of the Officer on the identity issue and after the directions in the summing up, the defendant was acquitted by the jury.

R v LF (Canterbury Crown Court)
Secured a conviction against LF who was prosecuted for kidnap and threats to kill. The complainant’s evidence was that he had willingly entered the vehicle but then the incident became a kidnap when LF made threats to kill. The complainant ultimately sought his escape by jumping from the vehicle whilst it was in motion but sustained no injuries. Despite these challenges in the prosecution case, Jemima successfully secured a conviction of LF.

R v L (Isleworth Crown Court)
Prosecuted this complicated trial of issue where self-defence was raised based on comments made upon arrest and in interview. Despite this, Jemima successfully secured a conviction. Confidently dealt with the trial of issue procedure.

R v S
Under the supervision of Mark Watson KC, conducted a thorough review of the evidence for sentencing this corporate manslaughter case. I identified an additional aggravating factor in that the Defendant had failed to comply with crucial safety procedures and drafted this additional section for the prosecution sentencing note.

Environmental Law

Water pollution action.
Assisting, on a pro bono basis, a community group on potential legal action to stop sewage deposits made by the area’s wastewater services into the coastal area. The community group are collecting complainants about sewage deposits from which potential avenues including public nuisance, private nuisance, a statutory nuisance action with the local authority or a judicial review of Ofwat’s decision making in relation to regulating the wastewater service will be explored. Jemima has provided advice on how these different areas of law function as well as the technical and legal requirements to bring an action.

WNC & Whittlebury Village v Anglian Water
Under the supervision of Richard Banwell, drafted a research note on a proposed prosecution under section 111 Water Industry Act 1991 against a hotel in Whittlebury Village that is causing a smell through the discharge of effluent into public drains. Jemima advised on the merit of any potential action against Anglian Water.

Limagrain v National List; RAGT v National List
Under the supervision of Nicholas Ostrowski, wrote an advice for DEFRA on two appeals brought under the Seeds (National List of Varieties) Regulations 2001 and the Seed Marketing Regulations 2011. The two seeds had been rejected for admission onto the ‘national list’ and so their owners were seeking an appeal of that decision to the plant Varieties and Seeds Tribunal, which had not sat since 1984. The Advice addressed how to constitute the Tribunal, its approach when it had last heard cases, whether it would conduct a review or a de novo hearing and the merits/weaknesses of these appeals.

Net Zero Judicial Review
Under the supervision of Christopher Bader, researched whether giving reasons can be a remedy to a judicial review of a government department’s decision not to publish risk assessments to support broader net-zero commitments. Jemima reviewed caselaw on procedural impropriety to analyse whether, if valid reasons were given, that could satisfy a judicial review.

Public Law

R. (on the application of CPS) v Maidstone Crown Court [2025] 4 WLUK 208
Appeared for the successful applicant in a judicial review of a circuit judge’s decision not to extend custody time limits. The High Court granted the judicial review, finding that the circuit judge had erred in law and that his decision regarding “good and sufficient cause” was a decision that no court acting reasonably could have reached. Jemima prepared the written grounds and skeleton argument as well as making the permission and substantive application in a rolled-up hearing before the High Court. The case was reported on Westlaw.

MRU2025 v The District Council of Savanne [2024] SCJ 218
Acting for MRU2025, an NGO in Mauritius, in seeking a judicial review of a local council’s decision to grant a building permit on one of the last preserved beaches in Mauritius, despite it being an area protected by the National Planning Policy. The applicant’s judicial review was refused for not being brought promptly. Jemima drafted an application to the Mauritius Supreme Court for permission to appeal and an application for special leave to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. The case is ongoing.

R (on the application of HS, MA and MYA) v SSHD (Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber)
Successfully applied to strike out an application for judicial review before the Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber.

Regulatory Law

Westhope Ltd v CQC
Acting for the CQC, successfully resisted an unusual application to strike out the Respondent’s Response to the appeal pursuant to rule 8(4)(c) of the Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal) (Heath, Education and Social Care Chamber) Rules 2008. At short notice, delivered submissions on the real prospect of the Respondent’s opposition to the Appellant’s appeal succeeding drawing on the relevant caselaw.

Chelmsford City Council v Yue Tao Ltd
Prosecuted a sentencing hearing following the Defendant company’s guilty plea to two offences under Regulation 6(2) Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013. The Council was expecting a £5000 fine. I identified that a customer had suffered an anaphylactic shock, submitted that this aggravated the offending and secured a fine of £28,293. In addition, I successfully applied for a Hygiene Prohibition Order, such that the foot outlet had to close immediately.

RSPCA cases
Prosecuted a number of private prosecutions brought by the RSPCA for breaches of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

Nursing and Midwifery Council Secondment
Completed a six month secondment to the NMC, gaining significant prosecutorial experience in the regulatory sector. During this period, Jemima prosecuted 12 substantive cases and 29 interim orders. These cases required careful management of factual evidence arising from a workplace setting and a thorough understanding of the regulatory framework in order to demonstrate how the respondents had breached professional standards. This experience reinforced Jemima’s ability to
adapt to different legal contexts and deliver successful outcomes in regulatory prosecutions.

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