Lef t-wing lawyer on the run after court no-show
A HIGH Court judge has ordered the police to arrest a campaigning Left-wing lawyer after she failed to appear in court to face dishonesty claims.
In an unprecedented case, Mr Justice Fancourt issued a warrant for the arrest of prominent civil liberties solicitor Soophia Khan after finding her in contempt of court for failing to show up for her own case.
The ruling on Wednesday, thought to be the first of its kind against a solicitor, means Miss Khan is effectively on the run.
It comes after the 41-year-old human rights lawyer was sacked from a leading role at the Law Society in 2019 after being found to have discriminated against an official by calling her a ‘white woman’.
Miss Khan, the former chairman of the society’s civil litigation committee, then had her Leicester practice shut down in August by the Solicitors regulation Authority (SrA), which said there was reason to suspect ‘dishonesty’.
It was also alleged that she and the firm had not complied with the profession’s principles, code of conduct and accounts rules. She was automatically suspended from the practice and officials
‘Issued a warrant for her arrest’
went to the High Court after Miss Khan allegedly failed to pass all her client files to the watchdog.
But she apparently continued offering legal services under a new business. She has built a reputation campaigning against the police over stop and search powers and other policies.
On Wednesday, regulators applied to the High Court again for an order that would force her to hand over her files and for an injunction preventing her from continuing to provide legal advice.
But Miss Khan did not attend the hearing so the court ruled that she was in contempt and issued a ‘bench warrant’ for her arrest – meaning police can take her into custody at any time.
The SrA, which oversees 155,000 practising solicitors in england and Wales, said it was unaware of a bench warrant ever having been issued for the arrest of a lawyer before.
Miss Khan had applied to have the hearing adjourned, claiming she needed ‘emergency elective surgery’, reported The Law Society Gazette.
But Mr Justice Fancourt rejected her request saying he believes Miss Khan ‘will not voluntarily attend the court’ and the ‘only sensible option was to have her arrested and brought to court’.