Robert Venables faces retrial in London tax evasion case after jury deadlock

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Venables tax evasion retrial

Highlights

Southwark Crown Court discharged the jury after they failed to reach a verdict on Robert Venables' three counts of cheating HM Revenue & Customs, prompting a retrial set for October 2027.
The charges concern alleged under-declaration of taxable income from January 2013 to November 2022, with prosecutors citing use of trust and partnership arrangements like RVQC Partnership to lower tax liabilities.
HMRC claims Venables knowingly breached anti-avoidance rules, while the defense maintains he acted in good faith and prominent legal figures testified in his support.

Southwark court case and retrial timeline

As reported by Financial Times, Southwark Crown Court discharges the jury after the 10 remaining jurors say they cannot reach a majority verdict in the case against Venables, 78, who faces three counts of cheating HM Revenue & Customs.

The retrial is scheduled for October 2027 after nearly two weeks of deliberations end without agreement. Two jurors had already been dismissed, including one linked to tensions that arose during deliberations.

The charges relate to periods running from January 2013 to November 2022 for two counts, with a third count beginning in 2018. The court had already ruled that Venables under-declared his taxable income, but the jury is tasked with deciding whether he acted dishonestly when submitting returns or made an honest mistake.

Alleged tax structures and wider legal implications

The prosecution says Venables used trust and partnership arrangements, including RVQC Partnership, to reduce his tax liabilities and allocate profits to a company and family-linked trusts even though the income came from his own work. HMRC alleges he knew the structures breached anti-avoidance rules intended to stop individuals from artificially lowering income tax.

Prosecutor Julian Christopher KC argues that the arrangements reflect greed and a sense of entitlement, while also citing passages from Venables' own writing to suggest he understood the tax rules he was accused of breaking. Emails shown to the jury also include concerns from gardener Dean Wise, who said he had a bad feeling there would be a real headache to sort out later.

Venables does not deny trying to reduce his tax bill, but says he used his expertise to create arrangements he believed were legal and tax-efficient. He tells the court that a person is entitled to take advantage of the system and says he is morally entitled to pay no more than 20 per cent tax, while the defence describes some of the arrangements as unorthodox but legally adopted in good faith.

Character witnesses including Baroness Kathy Willis, former Supreme Court justice Lord Robert Carnwath and junior barrister Rebecca Sheldon speak in his support. In a statement, Venables thanks his legal team and witnesses and says he remains constrained in what he can say publicly while proceedings continue.

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