Watchdog may get greater powers after Mail probe

A legal watchdog could be given greater powers to monitor and punish rogue lawyers following an undercover investigation by the Mail.

The Legal Services Board (LSB) announced it will review the tools available to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to probe lawyers suspected of wrongdoing.

The LSB said this could include increasing the maximum financial penalty the SRA can issue, which is currently £25,000, as well as looking at whether officials should be able to ‘proactively gather information and share intelligence to help them detect and address misconduct’.

Last week, the Mail ran a series of stories exposing the widespread abuse of Britain’s asylum system by immigration solicitors and advisors.

Legal professionals at several firms agreed to help an undercover reporter file a fabricated asylum claim to the Home Office. The findings prompted the SRA to close three of the firms after Rishi Sunak and Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk said the allegations of ‘appalling’ conduct must be met with the ‘full force of sanctions’.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Labour’s shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry and Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael were among politicians from all parties that had also called for legal authorities to investigate. Alan Kershaw, chairman of the LSB, said: ‘The public rightly expects that lawyers in England and Wales will uphold the highest professional standards and ethical conduct.

‘For some time, we have been concerned that a lack of effective fining powers among some regulators, particularly the SRA, may hamper their ability to tackle wilful and serious misconduct.

‘We are anxious to ensure... regulators have the most effective tools available to identify and deal with such misconduct.’