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News: Al-Sweady Inquiry - statement
REF
UPDATE:
Our investigation has involved the review of a huge amount of complex and detailed evidence contained in hundreds of thousands of documents.
We recognise the need to deal with these matters as quickly as possible and we have engaged Leading Counsel to oversee this work.
We have now decided to refer a second law firm to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. It is for the Tribunal to decide if there is a case to answer and we anticipate giving it the necessary information to do so in the coming weeks.
If the Tribunal accepts the case, it will set a date for a hearing. It would only be at this hearing that the full details of our case would be made public.
It is important to make it clear that these are presently only allegations; they are unproven at this point. We should also make it clear that we would not normally confirm such a decision unless the Tribunal agreed that there was a case to answer. It is only because others have put this information in the public domain that we have confirmed we will make a referral.
Previous statements:
January 12, 2015
January 5, 2016
More...
We have noted with concern the findings of the Al-Sweady Inquiry and the issues raised in the Ministerial Statement by Michael Fallon, the Secretary of State for Defence on 17 December 2014, which raised concerns about two law firms involved in litigation or the inquiry.
The Minister said: "The Iraqi detainees, their accomplices and their lawyers must bear the brunt of the criticism for the protracted nature and £31 million cost of this unnecessary public inquiry. The falsity of the overwhelming majority of their allegations, the extraordinarily late disclosure of a document showing the nine detainees to have been insurgents and the delay by their lawyers in withdrawing the allegations of torture and murder have prompted the Solicitors Regulation Authority to investigate possible breaches of professional standards. The authority is expected to complete its investigation into the two firms responsible, Public Interest Lawyers and Leigh Day and Co, early next year.
The Minister said: "The Iraqi detainees, their accomplices and their lawyers must bear the brunt of the criticism for the protracted nature and £31 million cost of this unnecessary public inquiry. The falsity of the overwhelming majority of their allegations, the extraordinarily late disclosure of a document showing the nine detainees to have been insurgents and the delay by their lawyers in withdrawing the allegations of torture and murder have prompted the Solicitors Regulation Authority to investigate possible breaches of professional standards. The authority is expected to complete its investigation into the two firms responsible, Public Interest Lawyers and Leigh Day and Co, early next year.
Our investigation has involved the review of a huge amount of complex and detailed evidence contained in hundreds of thousands of documents.
We recognise the need to deal with these matters as quickly as possible and we have engaged Leading Counsel to oversee this work.
We have now decided to refer a second law firm to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. It is for the Tribunal to decide if there is a case to answer and we anticipate giving it the necessary information to do so in the coming weeks.
If the Tribunal accepts the case, it will set a date for a hearing. It would only be at this hearing that the full details of our case would be made public.
It is important to make it clear that these are presently only allegations; they are unproven at this point. We should also make it clear that we would not normally confirm such a decision unless the Tribunal agreed that there was a case to answer. It is only because others have put this information in the public domain that we have confirmed we will make a referral.
Previous statements:
January 12, 2015
January 5, 2016
More...
