Kent’s top QC will lead the prosecution in the case of a lorry driver accused of causing the deaths of eight people on the M1.

Oliver Saxby – who appears regularly at serious cases at Canterbury and Maidstone Crown Courts – will present the case on behalf of the Crown Prosecution Service next year.

Six men and two women died in the crash involving two lorries and a minibus near Newport Pagnell on August 26.

Ryszard Masierak, 31, of Evesham, Worcestershire, and David Wagstaff, 53, of Stoke-on-Trent, each deny eight counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

A trial has been set for 26 February at Aylesbury Crown Court and Masierak was remanded in custody, while Wagstaff was given bail.

Four minibus passengers were also seriously hurt in the crash on the southbound carriageway. Both defendants denied four counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Wagstaff pleaded guilty to eight counts of death by careless driving, and to careless driving but he will stand trial on the more serious charges.

The eight people who died were part of a group of Catholics from Nottingham's Malayali community, originating from Kerala in southern India.

They were on their way to catch the Eurostar to France when the crash happened.