DEFEAT OF IRAQ WAR VULTURES
Victory for Mail as legal firm that spent taxpayer millions hounding our troops closes
A LEGAL firm that spent a decade hounding British troops is to shut down.
After being stripped of public money Public Interest Lawyers will close at the end of this month.
Hundreds of service personnel will now escape being dragged into a taxpayerfunded witch-hunt.
Nearly 200 compensation claims made by suspected Iraqi insurgents will be thrown out and more than 1,000 potential claims scrapped. Phil Shiner, who ran PIL, may now face charges because the National Crime Agency is investigating the law firm.
The development is a victory for the Daily Mail, which has exposed the tactics of the ambulance-chasing solicitors. These include using touts to drum up business in Iraq in breach of legal rules.
The collapse of PIL emerged in a document it submitted to the High Court at the start of this month. It asked judges to make an order that it had ceased to act for 187 Iraqi claimants due to its ‘permanent closure’.
In a subsequent letter seen by the Mail, PIL told its clients it was closing on August 31 and would no longer act on their behalf. The 187 cases will not now come before the courts – and neither will another 1,100 compensation claims the legal firm planned to lodge.
PIL will also not submit any more cases to the Iraq Historic Allegations Team, saving hundreds of soldiers from being tormented by heavy-handed detectives.
For years the firm has been dragging military veterans through the courts
with often false claims that they murdered and tortured Iraqis. It has pocketed millions of pounds in legal aid.
Soldiers, many suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder, have faced as many as five investigations over single incidents.
Sergeant Jeremy Edgar, who was dragged before the £31million Al-Sweady inquiry into alleged abuses in Iraq, which exonerated British troops, said: ‘Phil Shiner has fallen on his sword.
‘How many servicemen and women have suffered due to the stress and misery that he has caused? This is ten years too late but it is fantastic news.’
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: ‘This is the right outcome for our armed forces, who show bravery and dedication in difficult circumstances.
‘For too long, we’ve seen our legal system abused to impugn them falsely. We are now seeing progress and we will be announcing further measures to stamp out this practice.’
In a statement the Government said it had been concerned about the volume of the claims and that they ‘could damage the ability of the armed forces to operate effectively’.
PIL’s decision to fold came after officials announced they would end the firm’s access to legal aid earlier this month following David Cameron’s pledge to end the witch-hunt.
The Legal Aid Agency turned off the tap of public cash following a review of PIL’s practices and an investigation by the solicitors’ watchdog, which referred the firm to a tribunal.
Allegations against PIL centre around two main issues, the first being its role in the AlSweady inquiry, which looked at allegations of murder and torture by British forces.
The inquiry comprehensively exonerated UK troops and branded the claims made by clients of PIL and another law firm as ‘deliberate and calculated lies’.
Investigations also revealed that taxpayers’ money handed to PIL was used to fund an agent called Mazin Younis, who drummed up business for the firm in Iraq.
Sgt Edgar, 39, who served with the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment in Iraq, said: ‘It made me feel sick that I then had to give evidence, it cost me my marriage, job.
‘This closure is a warning for those others that are currently pursuing spurious and knowingly false claims against loyal British servicemen and veterans. They have attempted to tarnish not only Britain’s armed services but the UK as a nation.’
Colonel Richard Kemp, who commanded troops in Afghanistan, welcomed the demise of PIL. He said: ‘They have hounded British soldiers for personal gain and political agenda for many years.
‘They have effectively acted as agents of our enemies in trying to undermine the security of this country.’
The Mail has revealed how PIL handed investigators at IHAT more than 1,100 cases of alleged wrongdoing, leading to hundreds of soldiers being quizzed.
The 145-strong IHAT team has taken on 1,668 cases. But out of 176 claims already examined, only one has had a result: a £3,000 fine and referral for disciplinary action.
Earlier this year Mr Shiner was charged by his professional body, the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority, which referred him to the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal.
He could be struck off, but he has won the right to have the next stage of his disciplinary case heard behind closed doors. The public is not allowed to know the charges against him.
The Mail is fighting Mr Shiner’s secrecy bid.
The accusations are understood to centre on his role in the Al-Sweady inquiry.
Tory MP Johnny Mercer, who led a Commons defence committee inquiry into the witchhunt, said he was not sorry to see a firm ‘built on the back of finance from prosecuting soldiers’ close.
PIL and Mr Shiner did not respond to requests for comment last night.