Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance acted pro bono for JUSTICE to assist in their intervention in Ademola Adedeji's appeal. The intervention highlighted racial stereotyping in the criminal justice system. The Court overturned the conviction of Adedeji, one of the "Manchester 10".

The Court of Appeal has quashed the conviction for conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm of Ademola Adedeji without ordering a retrial. Adedeji was previously convicted as one of the 'Manchester 10', a group of 10 boys and young men who participated in a group chat and were all convicted of either conspiracy to cause GBH or conspiracy to commit murder as a result. Adedeji was aged 17 years old at the time of the offence, and was sentenced to eight years imprisonment for sending 11 text messages in a group chat following the murder of his best friend. Adedeji was represented by Keir Monteith KC and Audrey Cherryl Mogan of Garden Court Chambers, instructed by Zachary Whyte and Ruby Breward of Sperrin Law.

Clifford Chance assisted JUSTICE, a leading law reform and human rights charity, in their third-party intervention in Adedeji's case. The intervention was considered by the Court of Appeal in its two-day hearing in December 2024, and was highlighted in the judgment (Oni and Ors. v R [2025] EWCA Crim 12) for "raising issues about racial stereotyping adultification of black and ethnic minority defendants, and the misinterpretation of drill music as evidence of criminal activity (§7)."

The JUSTICE intervention highlighted:

• The prejudicial use of gang affiliation evidence in light of the dangers of racial stereotyping, including the Crown's reliance on a drill music video and a 'money phone' picture;
• The adultification of Black and ethnic minority young people, a phenomenon by which racial stereotypes are used to view children as inherently less innocent, more mature and threatening than their White peers;
• The lack of appropriate gang experts in the case, including the misuse of police 'expert' evidence when factually identifying a gang; and
• The poor reliability of identification evidence made from images, particularly where own-race bias may arise.

Ademola Adedeji's conviction was overturned. The Court agreed with the submissions that racial bias is an improper basis of any decision in a criminal trial, noting, "it is vital in any case to avoid the unfair stereotyping of individuals, based on their race, as members of gangs" (§102).

Carlos Conceicao (Clifford Chance Litigation & Dispute Resolution Partner) commented, "We were pleased to be able to help JUSTICE make its submissions. The use of racial stereotyping should be challenged everywhere. When such stereotyping appears in the criminal justice system, it can have particularly grave consequences for those affected by it."

Acting pro bono for JUSTICE, Clifford Chance instructed Dr Tunde Okewale OBE (Doughty Street Chambers) and Oliver Mosley (QEB Hollis Whiteman). The Clifford Chance team was led by Christopher David and Carlos Conceicao, and included Ayla Ronald, Craig Hogg, David Boyd, Akif Rahman, Ellen Kerslake, Rob Arthur and Sunil Bashal.

The JUSTICE intervention can be read here.