His Honour Judge Martin William Denton Beddoe is a British judge known for having presided over many high-profile criminal cases. He is a former Crown CourtRecorder, member of the Parole Board of England and Wales and a tutor judge of the Judicial College. In March 2013 he was one of the judges appointed to hear an inquest into the death of Olaseni Lewis.
Early life
Beddoe came from a military family. He was born in Abyad, Egypt, where his father, World War II veteran Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Beddoe was serving at the time of his birth. His father had a very distinguished military career and before his posting to Egypt was an infantry battalion commanding officer in Welsh Regiment during the Second World War. Judge Beddoe takes pride in his Welsh heritage.
Beddoe served as a Standing Counsel to the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office for 3 years, until December 2007, dealing with numerous high level drug importations and diversion cases, including some of the largest fraud prosecutions in the country such as the largest diversion fraud ever prosecuted at the time.
Prosecutor
Beddoe was a senior prosecutor in Peterborough Crown Court, Cambridgeshire. Throughout his career he successfully prosecuted many criminal cases including prosecution of a fraudster who was found guilty of involvement in a £1.5 million fraud in 2002, and a solicitor who plead guilty to stealing £350,000 in fees from clients in 2005. Solicitor Christopher McChrystal was arrested in October 2004 after the Law Society referred his case to the police. McChrystal was subsequently struck off after Lincoln Crown Court's finding that he used the clients' money to make an investment into his business. In 2003 Beddoe was a senior prosecutor in court cases resulting from Operation Harrier, a clean-up operation which has declared all-out war against Class A drugs in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.
Defence counsel
Beddoe has defended at the criminal bar in drug cases, fraud, homicide and other serious crime. He also dealt with Courts Martial, Inquests and Public Enquiries. In 2005 he successfully defended Jason Smith, British soldier who served eight years in the British Army. The court heard that Smith's successful Army career was halted prematurely due to a back injury and he had struggled to come to terms with it. In March 2005, as a result of his post-traumatic stress disorder, Smith had carried out a raid of a petrol station in Northampton at knife-point, but later dropped 45 in cash as the owner and several villagers gave chase. Sentencing Jason Smith to a two-year suspended sentence, Judge Nigel Daly told him:
Judicial career
As a judge, Beddoe has presided over many high-profile criminal cases, including trial of BAFTA nominated film producers who used Film Tax Credit to claim back inflated cash from the Treasury.
In 2017 Judge Beddoe presided over the case of Ricardo McFarlane, 30-year-old Muslim convert charged with anti-social behaviour after preaching Sharia law in Oxford Street and two other London venues, who declined to stand up in court on religious grounds. McFarlane allegedly breached the terms of an antisocial behaviour order barring him from addressing members of the public to promote sharia law. At the hearing in Southwark Crown Court, Judge Beddoe noticed that McFarlane did not stand when he entered the room. McFarlane's defence barrister commented: To which Judge Beddoe responded: McFarlane then proceeded to stand for Judge Beddoe while he was speaking and during the rest of the hearing.
Beddoe is married to philosopher Mary Margaret Anne McCabe. A fitness enthusiast, he cycles a lot and is a keen golfer who served as a club captain of Old Tonbridgian Golfing Society.
