Ex-lawyer pleads guilty to fraud over Iraq war claims

[Pelican Press 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Ex-lawyer pleads guilty to ****** over Iraq war claims

Former human rights lawyer Phil Shiner has pleaded guilty to three counts of ******, linked to claims made against British Iraq War veterans.

Shiner, 67, appeared at Southwark Crown Court on Monday where he entered the guilty pleas, the National ****** Agency (NCA) said.

The former boss of Public Interest Lawyers was struck off by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in 2017 for pursuing false ******** and ******* allegations against British troops.

The head of the NCA’s International *********** Unit said the conviction “is a milestone”.

The three charges relate to allegations of ****** offences over legal aid claims made in 2007.

Then, Shiner, from Birmingham, made an application to the Legal Services Commission, seeking up to £200,000 of legal aid funding for his firm to represent clients including

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, in an application for judicial review.

It was claimed that his nephew, Hamid Al-Sweady, was unlawfully ******* while in the custody of British troops at military base Camp Abu Naji.

A lengthy inquiry into wider allegations of ****** at the hands of British soldiers established “beyond doubt” that all the most serious allegations had been found to be “wholly without foundation and entirely the product of deliberate *****”.

The

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

said that Hamid Al-Sweady had been ******* “outright” during fighting and was not detained alive.

The NCA said that, in total, Shiner received around £3 million in the value of the contract and that the ensuing Al-Sweady inquiry cost the tax payer £24 million.

The agency said Shiner had ******* to disclose that an agent acted on his behalf and had been cold calling and making unsolicited approaches to potential clients in Iraq.

The second count of ****** was levelled after he was found to have not disclosed he was paying referral fees – a practice not permitted while obtaining a legal aid contract.

He was also convicted for providing a witness statement to the Commission in support of his application, which was again obtained via an unsolicited approach.

Because this information was not disclosed, Shiner was able to gain a valuable legal aid contract to pursue the judicial review, the agency said.

Andy Kelly, head of the NCA’s International *********** Unit said: “This conviction is a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex domestic and international investigation.”

“Shiner’s actions resulted in untold pressure and anxiety on members of the British Armed Forces, pursuing legal challenges funded through dishonest actions,” he said.

Shiner will be sentenced on 2 December.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

#Exlawyer #pleads #guilty #****** #Iraq #war #claims

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up