A top Bradford barrister has welcomed proposals to simplify the law on gang-related killings.

Stephen Wood, who is based at the Broadway barristers’ chambers, said there were miscarriages of justice due to the complexities of the ‘joint enterprise’ rule, which allows groups or gangs to be charged with murder, even if only one person delivers the fatal blow.

MPs on the Commons Justice Select Committee last week said a new, less complex law on such killings was needed to ensure justice for victims and defendants.

A change in the law would also cut the number of appeals, the committee said.

It claimed the law surrounding gang murder cases was now so complicated juries might find it impossible to understand how to reach the right verdict.

Mr Wood said he believed up to 200 cases had been taken to the Court of Appeal on the basis of a jury being misdirected on joint enterprise.

He said: “Any simplification of the principles would be welcomed. I have no doubt there are miscarriages of justice on both the prosecution and defence sides. Sometimes judges and lawyers do not understand the principles, and people are being wrongly convicted.”

Mr Wood said the Aimee Wellock case, in which he represented one of the defendants, was a good example of how it could go wrong.

Aimee, 15, collapsed and died after running away from a teenage gang at the Chellow Dene beauty spot in 2005. Three teenage girls were convicted of her manslaughter, but were later cleared after an appeal on the issue of joint enterprise, and were found guilty of affray.

Other recent controversial Bradford cases included the Rashid Elahi murder in West Bowling. The prosecution offered no evidence part way through the trial against one defendant charged with murder, and the jury was directed to find three other defendants not guilty because of insufficient evidence.

There were also no convictions for the murder in the case of Damian Gordon, who was shot dead at the Club Icon in Westgate, Bradford. One man, alleged to have carried out the shooting, was acquitted by a jury, and five others charged with murder were cleared by the Court of Appeal after the trial judge decided there was no safe evidence to convict.

Martin Goldman, Chief Crown Prosecutor for Yorkshire and Humberside, said: “We will be issuing draft guidance for the purposes of consultation, and it will be kept under review.”