Rajiv Menon KC's contempt trial raises alarm in UK legal profession

Prominent criminal‑defence barrister Rajiv Menon KC is facing contempt of court charges for remarks made in his closing speech to a jury during the trial of activists who broke into an Elbit Systems site near Bristol in August 2024. He is accused of defying a judge’s order by telling jurors they have the right to acquit according to their conscience, a claim he denies. The Court of Appeal intervened to postpone the trial, which is now expected to proceed in October, and a petition with about 40,000 signatures has been launched in his support.

Legal figures have warned of a chilling effect on defence work. The Criminal Bar Association chair Riel Karmy‑Jones KC said barristers are becoming “uncertain and scared of what they can and can’t say”. Baroness Shami Chakrabarti and former MP Jeremy Corbyn called the proceedings unprecedented and a threat to judicial independence. Critics argue alternative actions, such as Bar Standards Board discipline, would have been appropriate. If convicted, Menon faces up to two years in prison, marking what many describe as the first contempt case over the content of a closing speech in British legal history.