Call to strip shamed city solicitor of legal honour ‘Traitor’ who hounded soldiers once named Lawyer of Year
ALEADING legal expert has demanded that shamed Birmingham solicitor Phil Shiner – struck off following accusations he hounded British troops with false claims of torture and murder in Iraq – is stripped of a top honour.
Shiner, branded a “modern day traitor” by one MP, was named International Lawyer of the Year in 2014 by Birmingham Law Society.
Now another Birmingham legal expert has dubbed the gong an embarrassment and called on the society to strip the father-of-five of the honour.
Twelve charges of misconduct faced by Shiner were last week found proven by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
As well as being struck off, he faces financial ruin after being told to pay costs of £250,000, with more to follow.
The Birmingham-based lawyer worked for now the defunct Public Interest Lawyers (PIL), which received millions of pounds in legal aid to sue the Ministry of Defence.
The firm brought forward 2,470 claims to the Iraq Historic Allegations Team. Shiner was found to have dishonestly agreed to pay “sweeteners” to a fixer to make him change his evidence to the Al-Sweady probe which cleared troops of abusing Iraqis after the 2004 Battle of Danny Boy.
Richard Jaffa, a former senior partner in Birmingham firm The Wilkes Partnership, has now called on the city’s law society to revoke the honour bestowed on Shiner. The 77-year-old, now semiretired, said: “I was at the dinner when he got the award. “I was horrified because, even at that stage, there were rumours flying around. The award was an error of judgment, given to someone who was potentially such a controversial figure. “This guy was on the outside. Nobody knew him. He really had no presence in Birmingham at all. “He had an office in Birmingham, but was seldom there.” Mr Jaffa added: “One it hopes that Birmingham Law Society will now formally revoke that award that tarnished our profession in Birmingham.”
Shiner picked up the honour at a glitzy, black-tie evening held at the International Convention Centre, where Baroness Helena Kennedy was guest speaker. His fall from grace has been steep and spectacular.
Yet before the storm, PIL’s website stated: “Phil has an international and national reputation for his work on international human rights law and international law generally. He is recognised as the leader in the field of achieving accountability for the extraterritorial actions of the UK, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan. The list of reported cases in this area of law is impressive.”
The plaudits have now been replaced by scathing criticism. Plymouth MP Johnny Mercer raged: “In my view Phil Shiner is a modern day traitor.”
Shiner was dubbed “Tank Chaser” for his relentless pursuit of concocted claims on behalf of Iraqis.
His allegations of murder and torture sparked two major investigations. One, the Iraq Historical Allegations Team (Ihat) has already cost £57 million, and has probed 3,281 allegations. Not one has led to a prosecution.
Birmingham Law Society was unavailable for comment.