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| Phil Shiner: Iraq human rights lawyer struck off over misconduct | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The campaigning human rights lawyer Phil Shiner has been struck off as a solicitor after multiple professional misconduct charges were found proved against him, including dishonesty and lack of integrity. | |
| The decision, made in his absence on Thursday, followed a two-day hearing at the solicitors disciplinary tribunal in central London. | |
| Shiner was found guilty of 22 misconduct charges, several involving dishonesty. The tribunal found them proved to the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt. Two other charges were left to lie on the file. | |
| The Birmingham lawyer led the pursuit of legal claims against British troops for their treatment of Iraqi detainees after the 2003 invasion. | The Birmingham lawyer led the pursuit of legal claims against British troops for their treatment of Iraqi detainees after the 2003 invasion. |
| Earlier courtroom victories over the case of Baha Mousa were followed by controversy around separate allegations, the most serious of which turned out to be wholly untrue. | |
| Shiner claimed that UK soldiers had captured, tortured and murdered innocent Iraqi civilians after the so-called Battle of Danny Boy near Basra in 2004. | Shiner claimed that UK soldiers had captured, tortured and murdered innocent Iraqi civilians after the so-called Battle of Danny Boy near Basra in 2004. |
| A 2014 report by the al-Sweady inquiry demonstrated that those who died had been members of the Mahdi army militia, who ambushed a British patrol and were killed in exchanges of gunfire. | A 2014 report by the al-Sweady inquiry demonstrated that those who died had been members of the Mahdi army militia, who ambushed a British patrol and were killed in exchanges of gunfire. |
| Shiner subsequently admitted paying an Iraqi middleman to find claimants, a practice that is in breach of professional standards. | Shiner subsequently admitted paying an Iraqi middleman to find claimants, a practice that is in breach of professional standards. |
| The tribunal was told that the men’s purported witness accounts were fictitious and Shiner’s Birmingham law firm, Public Interest Lawyers, stood to benefit from damages cases linked to the claim. | |
| The verdict was welcomed by the defence secretary Sir Michael Fallon: “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.” | |
| More details soon . . . |