Henry Hendron, a prominent barrister, has lost his appeal against a 14-month prison sentence for attempting to purchase Class A and Class C drugs from clients he was representing in legal proceedings. The decision was upheld by the Royal Courts of Justice on March 26, dismissing Hendron’s claims that his sentence was excessively harsh and incorrectly issued.

Hendron, 42, was initially sentenced last June at Woolwich Crown Court after pleading guilty to three counts of intentionally encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence and one count of possessing Class A drugs. The charges stemmed from incidents in 2021 when Hendron attempted to buy methamphetamine and GBL from two clients, Arno Smit and Ezra Benson, whom he was representing in drug supply cases.

The court heard that Hendron had sought to procure drugs from Smit just weeks before Smit was arrested in September 2021. Despite the legal proceedings, Hendron continued to represent Smit and another client at various stages of their criminal trials, including at Woolwich Crown Court.

During his appeal, Hendron argued that the sentencing judge, Jonathan Mann KC, should have recused himself as Hendron had previously filed a formal complaint against him. Hendron also claimed that the sentencing guidelines were improperly applied and that undue weight was given to Smit’s guilty plea.

However, the appeal judges rejected these arguments, affirming that Judge Mann had appropriately considered the severity of Hendron’s actions, which involved “a sequence of brazen serious criminal conduct.” The judges concluded that immediate imprisonment was necessary and justified, ruling the sentence neither excessive nor unjust.

Henry Hendron’s legal career has been marred by previous controversies, including a 2016 incident where he was convicted for purchasing illegal drugs linked to the death of his 18-year-old boyfriend, Miguel Jimenez. Following this, Hendron was suspended from the Bar for three years and later faced further disciplinary actions in 2021.