Environmental Regulation
Ian Whitehurst is a leading junior in regulatory law and corporate defence, with extensive experience in environmental enforcement, waste crime, and POCA proceedings. He acts for both regulators and corporates in complex and high-value cases, including prosecutions brought by the Environment Agency and local authorities.
He is particularly sought after in waste management prosecutions involving organised crime, multi-agency investigations, and complex confiscation proceedings. He is a member of the Specialist Regulatory Panel and regularly advises on criminal and civil enforcement strategy, disclosure, and director liability.
Ian recently delivered a national webinar for LexisNexis on waste crime and enforcement strategy, and is recognised for his thought leadership in environmental criminal law and financial penalties linked to regulatory breach.
Recent Work Highlights
- Instructed in a major waste dumping prosecution involving organised crime groups, cross-border dumping and POCA recovery.
- Represented in confiscation proceedings arising from an environmental waste prosecution—brought in post-conviction to lead on POCA issues.
- Lectured enforcement professionals on confiscation in planning and environmental breaches, including parallel financial recovery.
Areas of Expertise
- Waste management and environmental permit breaches
- Organised crime and waste dumping
- POCA proceedings arising from environmental crime
- Environmental agency prosecutions and appeals
- Planning enforcement and financial recovery
- Contaminated land and enforcement notices
- Advisory work on disclosure, privilege, and seizure
- Director liability and compliance in regulated sectors
Environmental Regulation Cases
Illustrative cases include:
- Instructed to represent a defendant in a major environmental dumping waste case.
- Successfully represented a waste management company in their appeal against a sentence (fines and costs) in a prosecution brought by the Environmental Agency concerning the failure to remove construction waste from a green belt area.
- Instructed to represent company in ongoing confiscation proceedings arising from an environmental waste prosecution. Brought in specifically to represent in the POCA proceedings.
