Cleared lawyer ‘criticised’ by panel member

A human rights lawyer accused of leading a witch hunt against British troops in Iraq was believed to have acted dishonestly, according to a fellow solicitor sitting on a disciplinary panel. Martyn Day was cleared of wrongdoing over allegations that British soldiers had murdered and tortured Iraqi civilians in May 2004. Mr Day had faced being struck off but was found not guilty in June of misconduct charges. But a judgment made public last night by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) shows one of the three members of its panel heavily criticised Mr Day over a number of allegations. The two other members effectively out-voted Richard Hegarty, clearing Mr Day of wrongdoing.