Former Lawyer Receives Suspended Sentence for Fraud Related to False Iraq War Claims

A two-year suspended sentence was handed down to Phil Shiner, a former human rights lawyer, at Southwark Crown Court, avoiding imprisonment for making false allegations of abuse against British forces in Iraq. Shiner admitted guilt to three charges of fraud concerning legal aid applications from 2007. Judge Christopher Hehir stated that while “there was obvious dishonesty”, he did not consider the ex-lawyer to have been “motivated by personal greed”. Shiner had pursued £200,000 in legal aid funding through a request for judicial review. Judge Hehir commented: “He got carried away with enthusiasm by his client’s cause and his judgement suffered as a result.” Richard Thomas KC, representing Shiner, 67, in mitigation, stated that his client had “suffered professional ruin”. The Solicitors Regulation Authority disbarred the former head of Public Interest Lawyers in 2017 due to his pursuit of unfounded torture and murder accusations against British military personnel. These charges stem from an application Shiner submitted to the Legal Services Commission, seeking for his firm to act on behalf of clients, among them Khuder Al-Sweady. It had been alleged that Khuder Al-Sweady’s nephew, Hamid Al-Sweady, was unlawfully killed while detained by British troops at the military installation Camp Abu Naji. A comprehensive investigation into broader claims of abuse involving British soldiers concluded “beyond doubt” that the most severe accusations were “wholly without foundation and entirely the product of deliberate lies”. The National Crime Agency (NCA) reported that Shiner obtained approximately £3 million from the contract’s value, and the subsequent Al-Sweady inquiry incurred a cost of £24 million for taxpayers. The report from the inquiry determined that Hamid Al-Sweady had participated in an assault on British forces and was killed “outright” during combat, contrary to claims of being detained alive. On Tuesday, during the sentencing, Judge Hehir informed the court: “The defendant isn’t being sentenced for anything that happened at the Al-Sweady inquiry, nor can it be said the judicial proceedings of the Al-Sweady inquiry in any sense represent harm.” He added: “They were part of a judicial process that in the end led to some very firm conclusions.” When submitting his application to the Legal Services Commission, Shiner neglected to reveal that an agent, operating with his awareness and on his behalf, had been cold-calling and initiating uninvited contact with prospective clients in Iraq. Furthermore, he did not disclose that he was compensating individuals with referral fees, a practice prohibited when securing a legal aid contract. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the material on external websites. Information regarding our policy on external linking is available.