Daniel (PhD, MSc, BSc, MA, MEWI Cert) is the UK’s foremost authority on the ecology and management of Japanese Knotweed, Himalayan Balsam, and Giant Hogweed. He has a proven track record of combining academic rigour with practical litigation experience and has been instructed as an expert in over 40 legal cases UK-wide, ranging from rural landholdings through to multimillion-pound development sites.

Daniel is the lead author of the world’s largest field trial on Japanese Knotweed control, a study that has fundamentally changed how government and industry manages infestations. As a Full Member of The Academy (MA) and a Certified Expert Witness (MEWI Cert), he provides commercially independent testimony that is indispensable for both claimants and defendants in civil claims.

Core specialist expertise:

• Forensic investigation – Japanese Knotweed age and growth assessment to establish liability in civil claims.
• GIS mapping & historical imagery analysis – evaluating Knotweed spread and dispersal over time.
• Management strategies – evidence-based and commercially independent management plans.
• Independent audit – scrutiny of contractor treatment specifications and management proposals at any scale.

Daniel’s commercially independent approach is particularly valuable in court, as it ensures management recommendations are based on science rather than a desire to sell specific herbicide products or services. He has received instruction in matters of misrepresentation, private nuisance, professional negligence and breach of contract.

Instructions can be undertaken on behalf of either claimant or defendant, or as a Single Joint Expert.