Partner Chris Roberts has provided comment in The Law Society Gazette on the SFO and the factors influencing its future success as a fraud prosecutor.

Commenting on updates required to disclosure legislation, Chris said: “I wonder whether the SFO and other prosecutors have missed a trick by failing to persuade legislators about the complexities that come with disclosure obligations.”

“We need to look at the rules and obligations placed on prosecutors in the world of 21st-century digital evidence, while making sure not to dilute the rights of defendants in revising those rules.”

Highlighting Nick Ephgrave’s progress in moving the SFO in the right direction, Chris commented: “I think he did a really good job, he improved morale and gave the organisation a sense of direction and purpose.” 

On deferred prosecution agreements, he said: “To demonstrate the effectiveness of a tool, you do need to keep bringing it to people’s attention.”

“With the DPA, the way to do that is to agree them. After a flurry in the first couple of years after their introduction, they disappeared from the radar. They now seem to be back, which is a good thing from the SFO’s perspective.”

Chris’ comments were published in The Law Society Gazette, both online and in the magazine on page 17, 22 May 2026.