The drugs he supplied killed his boyfriend – but he’ll be working as a barrister again in three years

A celebrity barrister who bought the ‘chemsex’ drugs that killed his teenage boyfriend in London’s historic legal centre has been suspended from practice for three years.

Henry Hendron, 36, bought £1,000 of mephedrone and GBL from BBC producer Alexander Parkin, 42, to deal ‘in bulk’ on to the gay party scene.

He gave detailed instructions to his Colombian boyfriend Miguel Jimenez, 18, on how to use and package the drugs to which Miguel replied: ‘Blimey, and I’m the Colombian.’

Hendron woke up to find Miguel lying dead next to him in bed at his exclusive flat in London’s Temple, the collection of chambers where Britain’s top lawyers and judges are based.

He dialled 999, but the teenager had suffered a lethal overdose of a combination of mephedrone, known as ‘meow meow’, and GBL in January 2015.

During a search police recovered 60 self-seal bags of mephedrone and found Hendron’s fingerprints on the jars and envelopes containing the drugs at his flat above 6 Pump Court.

He was later convicted of dealing the drugs at the Old Bailey.

Hendron today faces three charges of professional misconduct in front of a Bar Tribunal and Adjudication Service disciplinary panel.

He also admitted a charge relating to his conviction and two charges of mismanagement when he was the head of the Strand Chambers in 2013.

Those matters related to not paying fees to lawyer Rakesh Nath who worked with Hendron at Strand and then not giving him notice when he resigned.

Mr Nath was owed money by the chambers for cases he had done in August and September 2013.

When he emailed a complaint into Hendron on 1 October he was told the email would be taken as his resignation.

Mr Nath left the chambers the next day.

For supplying the drugs Hendron was sentenced at the Old Bailey to a community order with 18 months’ supervision and 140 hours unpaid work.

Parkin, an Oxford graduate who won nine Sony awards for his work with the BBC but since lost his job, was sentenced to a community order with 200 hours unpaid work.

Judge Richard Marks QC told them: ‘I am not sentencing either of you for any criminal offence in connection with the tragic death.

‘There was never any evidential justification for any such charge. Had it been the case your sentences would have been measured in years.’

The judge told Hendron: ‘I bear in mind the anguish you feel over the death of your partner and the very moving letter from his mother in which far from wanting you to be punished she stands by you.’

Between conviction and sentencing, Hendron told BBC Radio 4: ‘Every day that goes past I feel responsible. I was older, I should have known better, I was 34 then, he was only 18.

‘It should have been me saying “we’re not going to do this.’

‘I didn’t make that call when I should have done and for that reason, and that reason alone, I put his tragic death on my shoulders.’

Hendron’s conviction marked the end of a glittering career for the Tory lawyer once tipped to lead the party.

As a 17-year-old schoolboy, Hendron addressed the 1998 Conservative Party conference calling for the re-introduction of corporal punishment.

He acted for Tory MP Nadine Dorries when she was accused of smearing a rival during the 2015 election campaign and has represented Ukip’s Suzanne Evans, the Earl of Cardigan and The Apprentice winner Stella English.

He has since surrendered his law license and resigned as a barrister and now the Bar Standards Board will decide if he can ever practice again.

Following Miguel’s death, Hendron went on a two-month sex and drugs binge around London, at one point not sleeping for five days, which put him in hospital.

He told The Times: ‘I needed to lose time. I was doing drugs every day. All of them. I just didn’t care. I’d given up on life.’

Describing the burgeoning gay chemsex in London, Hendron said: ‘It’s decadent. It’s fun to be naughty, even if it’s not always nice.

‘Soon, you’re caught up in this world. It’s a big revolving door. It’s so easy to get in, but so difficult to get out of.

‘If my horrific experience goes for anything, I hope it will help those who are drowning in the sea of chemsex.’

Hendron admitted he bought the drugs for himself and his partner and also to sell on to friends at cost price.

The lawyer, who charged up to £1,750 per day for his legal services, at first denied buying and supplying the drugs but admitted using them with Miguel, who he met in August 2014.

He told police that after a day at court he spent the evening of 19 January with Miguel and a friend at his flat.

Hendron claimed he warned Miguel about his drug use before they went to bed.

He claimed he could not remember the passcode to his iPhone, but his computer contained a backup of messages referring to the use and purchase of drugs.

Further messages revealed contact between Hendron and Parkin in the days leading up to the purchase of the drugs.

Hendron then admitted in an interview in April 2015 that he bought the drugs in bulk.

On his arrest Parkin claimed he bought the drugs from a Brazilian man in the Harrow Road, keeping 250ml of GBL for himself and selling another litre to Hendron.

Hendron has three previous convictions for drink driving and has been in front of the Bar Standards Board previously for those offences.

He was reprimanded one occasion and fined £7,000 on another.

He also faced disciplinary action after posing a blog about an upcoming trial involving a ‘close personal friend’.

Hendron, of (6) Pump Court, Temple, City of London, admitted possession of the Class B drug Methedrone and the Class C drug Gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) with intent to supply.

The barrister, who represented himself at BSB hearing, admitted two counts of failing to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the affairs of his chambers were conducted in a manner which was fair and equitable to all barristers and pupils when head of chambers.

He also admitted behaving in a way, which was likely to diminish the trust and confidence, which the public places in a barrister and in the profession by reason of his conviction.

Two further professional misconduct charges were dropped, after the Bar Standards Board offered no evidence.

In his own defence Hendron said he wanted to start by correcting what was accepted at the trial.

The judge said he was not dealing with him for the supply leading to the death of his boyfriend and if he were the sentence would have been ‘years as opposed to months’.

‘The supply element of that conviction was supply to one other person, the prosecutor accepted he had contacted me being a close personal friend of mine.

‘I supplied it to him for what I had paid for it.

‘It was accepted by the prosecution and the judge on the day.’

Hendron said he recognised he was in a ‘difficult position’ and had cause ‘significant detriment’ to the profession, those around him and himself.

‘I do not look for mercy or salvation professionally from this tribunal,’ he said.

‘I am the author of my own tragedy through the decisions that I took.

‘I cannot blame anyone else for that other than myself and I do not seek to do so.’

In regards to his treatment of Mr Nath, Hendron said the way he was running chambers was ‘not fit for purpose’.

He said after the ‘rapid growth’ at the Strand Chambers he struggled with the financial admin and there were ‘issues’.

‘The main issue was that I could not identify what money was owed then

‘I could not pay him.’

Hendron accepted the way he had treated Mr Nath was ‘not adequate’ but said he never meant to fire him just ‘call his bluff’.

‘I did not say, you are fired, ‘ he told the tribunal.

‘It was more just calling his bluff and trying to get him back into order.’

But the next morning Mr Nath went to the chambers and removed his belongings.

Hendron said he ‘regrets’ sending the email and ‘some time later’ asked Mr Nath to re-join the chambers.

‘I can say with genuine honesty I regret the way I behaved in that email,’ he said.

He said it could act as a message to ‘back off when you see red’.

Hendron told the tribunal he did not want to add much more to a written witness statement he had handed up about the criminal conviction and was assured was private.

He said he has had his personal life in various papers in the course of the last few years but accepted it was ‘my fault’.

‘It needs to come to an end, for my mothers sake more than anything else,’ he said.

‘I am trying to bring an end to everything.

‘I pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and cooperated with the investigation.’

Hendron added: ‘I stand here today with great difficulty trying to defend myself, in the circumstances it just does not feel right for reasons which I hope should be obvious.’

‘This morning I wondered whether or not I should come.’

‘I decided to do so to fully face up to the situation and not run from it,’ said Hendron, close to tears.

‘I am in no doubt that the likely result will be disbarment, that is where the starting point is.’

The disciplinary panel suspended Hendron for three years but the ban was backdated to May last year – meaning he can reapply for his practicing certificate in just over two years.

He was also fined £2000 for ‘systematic failures’ in running his chambers.

Tribunal chair His Honour Patrick O’Brien said: ‘We will deal first with the more serious matter, the 2016 case which we have considered with the 2014 sentencing guidelines.

‘This is a very serious matter and we start from the starting point of disbarment.

‘We noted that the trial judge at the Central Criminal Court expressly excluded your responsibility for your partner’s death and we follow that line.

‘We also took that he sentenced you to a non-custodial sentence for a lesser role in possession of Class B and C drugs with intent to supply.’

Judge O’Brien said they had noted Hendron had admitted the charge but had ‘no alternative to do so’ due to his conviction and he had cooperated with the tribunal.

‘We agree with the trial judges conclusion that he clearly excluded any question financial gain from what you were doing,’ said Judge O’Brien.

‘It is clear in this case that you have suffered from the death of your partner in traumatic circumstances along with associated difficult personal circumstances for yourself.

‘You made, in your submission to this tribunal, the point that you recognise the gravity of you conduct at a detriment to the bar and you were the author of your own tragedy with no one else to blame.’

‘Having regard to all these factors we have decided not to disbar you.’

Judge O’Brien said the charges against Hendron were serious and had undermined the public confidence in the profession.

He said the tribunal wanted to signify that this type of behaviour was ‘unacceptable’.

‘We have decided a suspension of practice of three years,’ he said.

Judge O’Brien said the suspension would start from the date Hendron was first suspended from practice.

The tribunal will instruct the Bar Standards Board not to issue him with a practicing licence in that period.

In regards to the two other professional misconduct charges he said: ‘We take the view, the two charges, when taken as a whole, amounted to systematic failures of the management of areas of your chambers.’

He said that paying Mr Nath did not ‘come onto the priorities in your own time’.

‘We take the view that the administration of chambers as you did simply will not do.

‘We firmly reprimand you regard of each charge for that conduct and fine you £1000 for each charge making £2,000 in total,’ said Judge O’Brien.

Hendron was given two months to pay.

He was also ordered to pay the ‘modest total costs’ of £65.86.

Hendron admitted to behaving in a way, which was likely to diminish the trust and confidence, which the public places in a barrister and in the profession by supplying drugs.

He also admitted failing to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the affairs of his chambers were conducted in a manner, which was fair and equitable to all barristers and pupils in his treatment of Mr Nath and fined £2,000.
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