Charged with fraud, lawyer who hounded UK troops ... then got struck off
DISGRACED human rights lawyer Phil Shiner will appear in court on Monday accused of fraud over claims made against Iraq war veterans.
The former boss of the now-defunct Public Interest Lawyers is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to face three counts of fraud following a five-year investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Shiner, 65, who was once named solicitor of the year, was struck off by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SLR) in 2017 after claiming British troops unlawfully killed and tortured Iraqis.
His firm was behind the majority of the 3,380 claims received by the Iraq Historic Allegations Team, the organisation set up to review and investigate allega
‘Untrue and misleading’
tions of abuse of civilians by UK Armed Forces personnel in Iraq.
Shiner claimed British soldiers murdered and tortured hundreds of civilians during the Iraq war, using legal aid to sue the Ministry of Defence. His firm received £2.3 million of taxpayers’ money in three years.
An NCA spokesman said: ‘ Following an NCA investigation and Crown Prosecution Service authorisation, Philip Shiner will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday to answer charges in respect of fraud offences relating to legal aid claims made in 2007 and information provided to the Solicitors Regulation Authority in 2015.’
Court papers accuse Shiner of committing fraud by false representation in April 2015 in response to a question from the SRA, which he ‘knew was untrue and misleading’, so he could continue to practise as a solicitor.
He is also accused of being ‘engaged in the cold calling of clients in Iraq in relation to the alleged killings of Iraqi civilians by British Army personnel at the Battle of Danny Boy.’
The fierce battle in southern Iraq in 2004 gave rise to claims by Shia insurgents that they had been mistreated. Among the dead was 19-year-old Hamid Al-Sweady, whose name was used by a public inquiry after his uncle Khuder AlSweady claimed he had been murdered at the British camp.
The Al-Sweady inquiry, which cost £25 million, concluded the allegations by Iraqis were based on ‘deliberate lies, reckless speculation and ingrained hostility’.
Shiner is facing two charges of dishonestly failing to disclose information relating to Khuder Al- Sweady’s legal aid claim. Between September 18 and 20, 2007, Shiner is alleged to have failed to disclose that he ‘had been engaging in cold calling and the payment of referral fees’.
And in a letter challenging the decision to refuse funding of the legal aid application, in October 2007, he is said to have enclosed a statement that ‘had been obtained through cold calling’.