Shamed human rights lawyer Philip Shiner pleads guilty to fraud

by · Mail Online

Shamed former lawyer Philip Shiner pleaded guilty to fraud yesterday after orchestrating a £3million legal aid scam relating to claims against Iraq War veterans.

The 67-year-old, who was struck off for pursuing false torture and murder allegations against British soldiers, now faces a potential jail sentence after admitting three counts of fraud on the eve of his trial.

The criminal conviction cements the astonishing downfall of a lawyer who was once voted human rights lawyer of the year and feted as a champion of Iraqi victims of alleged brutality by the UK military. 

Shiner, who founded and ran the now-defunct law firm Public Interest Lawyers, brought thousands of criminal complaints to the Iraq Historic Investigations Team – a body set up by the Ministry of Defence to investigate soldiers. Not a single one was ever charged.

The National Crime Agency then launched a five-year investigation into Shiner’s practices which revealed he had gained legal aid work worth £3million by dishonest practices, including cold-calling to drum up clients.

This emerged in the wake of the Al Sweady inquiry which was set up by the Government in 2009 to examine claims that British troops had massacred Iraqi civilians in southern Iraq in May 2004.

Philip Shiner, who was struck off for pursuing false torture and murder allegations against British soldiers, now faces a potential jail sentence after admitting three counts of fraud on the eve of his trial
Soldiers in Iraq in 2016. The Al Sweady inquiry which was set up by the Government in 2009 to examine claims that British troops had massacred Iraqi civilians in southern Iraq in May 2004. Shiner received around £3million during the ensuing Al Sweady inquiry, which cost the taxpayer £24million

In 2007 Shiner made an ­application to the Legal Services Commission seeking up to £200,000 of legal aid funding for his firm to represent clients. In total, Shiner received around £3million during the ensuing Al Sweady inquiry, which cost the taxpayer £24million.

In 2014 the Al Sweady inquiry concluded that allegations of ­torture and murder were ‘wholly without foundation and entirely the product of deliberate lies, reckless speculation and ingrained hostility’.

Shiner was later declared bankrupt after being struck off for ­dishonesty and other offences by the Solicitors Regulation ­Authority for pursuing false torture and murder allegations against British troops.

He had been due to go on trial at Southwark Crown Court this week but he admitted three fraud charges at the last minute. The charges carry a maximum sentence of ten years in prison. Shiner was released on bail ahead of sentencing on December 2.