Commissioner and team

Biography

Jonathan became the Acting Service Police Complaints Commissioner on 1 November 2025. The appointment is for one year.

Prior to this appointment, Jonathan spent five years as the Director of Service Prosecutions (DSP). DSP is the senior civil servant within the MOD responsible for the fair and efficient prosecution of all cases involving UK Armed Forces personnel in the Court Martial and other service courts. This is a public-facing role involving the leadership of the Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) and the strategic oversight of its operational budget. DSP is independent of the Chain of Command and plays a full part in the governance of the Service Justice System at ministerial level. During his tenure, Jonathan invited HMCPSI to inspect the way the SPA was dealing with casework. The consequent report published in November 2024 observed that the positive findings were a testament to the hard work and drive that DSP had brought to the role.

Before his time as DSP, Jonathan enjoyed a successful career at the criminal bar spanning 33 years. He was Treasury Counsel at the Central Criminal Court for 13 years and took silk in 2010. Jonathan regularly appeared in cases that attracted national and international media attention, such as Stephen Port (‘the Grindr serial killer’), Darren Osborne, who carried out the Finsbury Park terror attack, and Rolf Harris, the former television personality. In addition, Jonathan edited the chapter on DNA evidence in the leading textbook on sexual offences.