The South West
Our LQPs in the South West
South West Regional Point of Contact
To be confirmed
to follow
South West Region LQPs
The South Western LQPs assist the Police Misconduct Panels in cases concerning officers from Devon & Cornwall, Dorset, Avon & Somerset, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire Police
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To contact any of this Region's LQPs, please email info@policemisconductlqps.co.uk
South Western LQPs
Derek Marshall
​Derek Marshall LLB MCIArb. was called to the Bar in 1980 and has practiced in Southampton ever since. He was a founder member of College Chambers in 1989 and retired as Head of Chambers in 2021 although he remains a full member.
He now works exclusively as a Civil Dispute Mediator, Family Finance Arbitrator, Private FDR and ENE Judge and as the Independent Legally Qualified Advisor to Police Misconduct Panels. He was appointed a Legally Qualified Chair of Police Misconduct Panels in 2019 and transferred to the new regime in 2024 where he sits in the south-east and south-west regions.
He is accredited with the Civil Mediation Council and the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Away from Chambers, Derek is Chair of the Board of The YOU Trust, a prominent local charity involved in supporting people and families in the community.
Giles Pengelly
Giles was Called to the Bar in 2017 and is a criminal barrister on the Midlands and Oxford Circuit working out of No.5 Chambers, Birmingham. Giles was appointed a Legally Qualified Chair of the Police Misconduct Panels in 2023 for the South Eastern Region. When the law changed in 2024, Giles transitioned over into being a Legally Qualified Person and was re-appointed to the South Eastern Region; Giles was then further appointed to both the North Western Region and parts of the South Western Region. In 2024, Giles was elected the Vice Chair of the National Association of LQPs.
James Cross
An LQP for the OPCC’s in Devon & Cornwall and Dorset.
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James qualified as a solicitor in 1992 specialising in litigation including for 10 years criminal defence from the Police Station to Magistrates and Crown Courts and Court of Appeal. He also represented clients before their professional boards and panels
From 2002 to April 2024, James practiced in Civil Litigation from County and High Courts to the Court of Appeal. He also acted and advised in Employment Tribunals.
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He was Head of Litigation, Managing Partner and former Chairman of a legal 500 Devon firm of solicitors and latterly a Consultant Solicitor until he decided to step away from private practice in May 2024 and take on a new role of LQP.
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James has also been President of his Local Law Society and chairman and board member of an Academy Trust and Charity Community Foundation in his home county of Devon.
Wendy Evans
Wendy qualified as a solicitor in 1994 and as a Higher Courts Advocate in 2002 and worked for the Crown Prosecution Service for 28 years, prosecuting complex and serious crime. Her specialisms included homicide, domestic abuse, youth crime and wildlife crime.
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She was appointed as Legally Qualified Chair of Police Misconduct Panels in 2016 and transitioned over into being a Legally Qualified Person in 2024, now appointed to the North East, West Midlands, Avon and Somerset and the North West.
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Since 2021, Wendy has been a member of academic staff at the University of Central Lancashire and teaches across several undergraduate and postgraduate modules in law and policing, designing, and developing courses, contributing to articles and supervising dissertation students. She collaborates with the Police Federation and Professional Standards Departments to deliver training on Professional Standards and Ethics to student police officers.
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Wendy has sat as Tribunal Judge since 2021.
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Away from her professional life, Wendy is a Trustee of two charities and delivers Domestic Abuse Awareness training to various groups.
Simon Barnes
Simon Barnes is dual qualified as a barrister (1999) and solicitor (2003) and is also an accredited mediator. He currently practises at the Bar and is based in Somerset.
Simon has a mixed practice, combining regulatory decision making with his legal work. He sits as a decision maker on professional conduct panels for a variety of regulators in diverse fields including healthcare, tax advice and linguistics. At the Bar, he practises from The Barrister Group, specialising in planning and local government law. He has previously served as an Assistant parliamentary Boundary Commissioner and worked on the most recent review of parliamentary constituency boundaries.
Simon’s interest in the police stems from his work as a member of the Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner’s Independent Scrutiny of Police Complaints Panel. As an LQP, Simon has been appointed to sit in the Wiltshire and East Midlands regions.