Former lawyer saved from jail over false claims about Iraq war

A former human rights lawyer has been saved from jail over false claims of abuse against British troops fighting in Iraq.

Phil Shiner was given a two-year suspended sentence at Southwark Crown Court after pleading guilty to three counts of fraud relating to legal aid claims made in 2007.

Judge Christopher Hehir said, “although there was clear dishonesty”, he did not believe the former lawyer was “motivated by personal greed”.

Shiner sought legal aid funding of £200,000 in an application for judicial review.

Judge Hehir said: “He got carried away with enthusiasm for his client’s case and his judgment suffered as a result.”

Richard Thomas Casey, mitigating, said that Shiner, 67, had “suffered professional ruin”.

The former boss of public interest lawyers was struck down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in 2017 for making false torture and murder allegations against British soldiers.

The charges relate to an application made by Shiner to the Legal Services Commission for his firm to represent clients including Khudair Al-Sweidi.

It was claimed that his nephew Hamid al-Sweidi was unlawfully killed while in the custody of British soldiers at the military base Camp Abu Naji.

A lengthy investigation into widespread allegations of abuse at the hands of British soldiers established “beyond doubt” that all the most serious allegations were found to be “completely baseless and entirely the product of deliberate lies”.

According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), Shiner received approximately £3m in the value of the contract and the ensuing Al-Swedi inquiry cost the taxpayer £24m.

The investigation report found that Hamid al-Sweidi was a participant in the attack on British forces and was killed “outright” during the fighting rather than being taken into custody alive.

During sentencing on Tuesday, Judge Heer told the court: “The defendant is not being punished for what happened in the Al-Sweidi investigation, nor can it be said that the judicial proceedings of the Al-Sweidi investigation represents a loss in any way.

“They were part of a judicial process that ultimately led to some very solid findings.”

In submitting his application to the Legal Services Commission, Shiner failed to disclose that an agent acting on his behalf and with his information was making unsolicited calls and unsolicited contact to potential clients in Iraq.

He also failed to disclose that he was paying a referral fee, which is not allowed as part of obtaining a legal aid contract.