First pride, then a fall from grace

HE once boasted that he had not ‘accepted a single case that turned out to be a try-on’.

But in a spectacular fall from grace, human rights lawyer Phil Shiner, 61, was struck off the roll of solicitors last February for a string of misconduct charges.

The father of five set up his Birmingham firm Public Interest Lawyers (PIL) in 1999 and led it until it was closed down in August 2016.

In 2007, at the height of his career, he was named the Law Society’s solicitor of the year.

He continued to make his name by suing the Government at the taxpayer’s expense. His firm handed over hundreds of allegations of criminality by British troops in Iraq, many of which have been thrown out.

The beginnings of his downfall were marked by a news conference in February 2008 that paved the way for the £25million Al-Sweady inquiry. Mr Shiner alleged that the Army had unlawfully killed, tortured and mistreated innocent Iraqi civilians during a clash known as the ‘Battle of Danny Boy’ in 200 .

But in December 201 the judge leading the public inquiry concluded the allegations were ‘wholly and entirely without merit’.

The Ministry of Defence then passed a damning dossier on PIL to the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority (SRA), which started an investigation.

In April 2016 the SRA concluded its inquiry and Mr Shiner was referred to a disciplinary tribunal over ‘serious allegations of professional misconduct’.

In August that year, his legal aid was pulled by the Government, forcing him to shut down his firm. In February 2017 he was struck off after being found guilty of professional misconduct.