Post by pirateman on Feb 2, 2017 13:22:46 GMT
A human rights lawyer who brought abuse claims against UK troops after the Iraq War has been struck off for misconduct.
Phil Shiner, from the now-defunct law firm Public Interest Lawyers, had 12 charges of misconduct proved against him by a panel of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
He had admitted acting recklessly by publicly claiming UK troops unlawfully killed, tortured and mistreated Iraqis.
The defence secretary said Mr Shiner had "made soldiers' lives a misery".
Sir Michael Fallon told the BBC he was "delighted" that Mr Shiner had been "exposed".
"The decent thing for him to do now would be to apologise," he said.
In five of the charges found proved he was found to have acted dishonestly, including agreeing to pay "sweeteners" to a fixer - named only as "Z" in tribunal papers but understood to be called Abu Jamal - to persuade him to change his evidence to the £31m Al-Sweady Inquiry.
The five-year investigation ruled in 2014 that allegations of murder and torture made against British soldiers by Iraqi detainees were "deliberate lies".
Mr Shiner previously admitted nine allegations of acting without integrity, including that he had made unsolicited approaches to potential clients.
'State of avoidance'
He did not attend the hearing, having written to the tribunal to say he was unwell and could not afford to pay for a defence lawyer.
The tribunal heard in December that he accepted he would be struck off as a result of the case, thought to be one of the most expensive ever brought by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
Andrew Tabachnik, representing the SRA, accused Mr Shiner of being "in a state of avoidance" to prevent proceedings from going ahead in full.
The hearing finished earlier than expected as a result of Mr Shiner's absence.
The tribunal heard about the impact how British military personnel had been affected by his actions in "cold-calling" the family members of alleged Iraqi victims.
Army Colonel James Coote, who was a major stationed in Basra, said the false claims made against British troops at the Battle of Danny Boy in 2004 had been "extremely stressful and demoralising".
British troops in IraqImage copyrightMOD
As a team leader at PIL, Mr Shiner authorised and procured payments and fee-sharing agreements with the agent, "Z", between 2007 and 2010.
Sir Michael said in a statement: "Justice has finally been served after we took the unprecedented step of submitting evidence on his abuse of our legal system.
"Phil Shiner made soldiers' lives a misery by pursuing false claims of torture and murder - now he should apologise.
"We will study any implications for outstanding legal claims closely."
Phil Shiner, from the now-defunct law firm Public Interest Lawyers, had 12 charges of misconduct proved against him by a panel of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
He had admitted acting recklessly by publicly claiming UK troops unlawfully killed, tortured and mistreated Iraqis.
The defence secretary said Mr Shiner had "made soldiers' lives a misery".
Sir Michael Fallon told the BBC he was "delighted" that Mr Shiner had been "exposed".
"The decent thing for him to do now would be to apologise," he said.
In five of the charges found proved he was found to have acted dishonestly, including agreeing to pay "sweeteners" to a fixer - named only as "Z" in tribunal papers but understood to be called Abu Jamal - to persuade him to change his evidence to the £31m Al-Sweady Inquiry.
The five-year investigation ruled in 2014 that allegations of murder and torture made against British soldiers by Iraqi detainees were "deliberate lies".
Mr Shiner previously admitted nine allegations of acting without integrity, including that he had made unsolicited approaches to potential clients.
'State of avoidance'
He did not attend the hearing, having written to the tribunal to say he was unwell and could not afford to pay for a defence lawyer.
The tribunal heard in December that he accepted he would be struck off as a result of the case, thought to be one of the most expensive ever brought by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
Andrew Tabachnik, representing the SRA, accused Mr Shiner of being "in a state of avoidance" to prevent proceedings from going ahead in full.
The hearing finished earlier than expected as a result of Mr Shiner's absence.
The tribunal heard about the impact how British military personnel had been affected by his actions in "cold-calling" the family members of alleged Iraqi victims.
Army Colonel James Coote, who was a major stationed in Basra, said the false claims made against British troops at the Battle of Danny Boy in 2004 had been "extremely stressful and demoralising".
British troops in IraqImage copyrightMOD
As a team leader at PIL, Mr Shiner authorised and procured payments and fee-sharing agreements with the agent, "Z", between 2007 and 2010.
Sir Michael said in a statement: "Justice has finally been served after we took the unprecedented step of submitting evidence on his abuse of our legal system.
"Phil Shiner made soldiers' lives a misery by pursuing false claims of torture and murder - now he should apologise.
"We will study any implications for outstanding legal claims closely."
