Jenrick: “Insult to veterans”
There has been a strong reaction to the suspended prison sentence for disgraced solicitor Phil Shiner, with the shadow Lord Chancellor saying “it is an insult to British veterans that he is not behind bars”.
Robert Jenrick explained on X: “Phil Shiner’s bogus claims destroyed the lives of so many British soldiers for years. Along the way he defrauded the taxpayer of hundreds of thousands of pounds.”
His Honour Judge Hehir at Southwark Crown Court said that, because Mr Shiner has “already suffered professional and personal ruin… I do not consider it necessary to add to that by sending you straight to prison”.
Former MP and veterans affairs minister Johnny Mercer wrote on X that he referred Mr Shiner to the National Crime Agency for prosecution back in 2017.
Describing the struck-off solicitor as “a modern day traitor”, he went on: “He paid fixers to generate evidence of industrial levels of abuse from the British Army in Iraq, made millions of pounds in the process, and has now been convicted of fraud. In the process he destroyed the lives of some of our finest veterans…
“That you receive a suspended sentence for committing a multi-million pound fraud but go to jail for posting something on Facebook, says all you need to know about this Country at the moment.”
The amount of legal aid Mr Shiner was convicted over was actually £200,000, although the work done with it it led to him obtaining a legal aid contract worth £3m.
Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat tweeted simply “Traitor”, while many former members of the armed forces took to social media to express disgust at the lenience of the sentence.
An editorial in The Sun called Mr Shiner “a wicked crook, a thief and a liar”, adding: “Incredibly, although Shiner pleaded guilty to fraud, a judge spared him jail because the offences were ‘a long time ago’.
“And so a conman who spent years lying about miscarriages of justice was yesterday the wholly undeserved beneficiary of one.”
Hilary Meredith-Beckham, whose eponymous Manchester law firm Hilary Meredith Solicitors represents veterans falsely accessed of brutality and abuses against Iraqi civilians, attended the sentencing alongside two of them Brian Wood and Bob Campbell.
In light of Mr Shiner’s conviction, she called on the government to apologise to those falsely accused and put in place a financial redress scheme.
“As a result of Shiner’s criminal conduct, thousands of British soldiers were falsely and maliciously accused of war crimes. He instigated a witch hunt based on deceit. The accusations against British troops were totally false, and Shiner illegally pocketed millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money pursuing them.
“The falsely accused have paid a huge price – shattered lives, broken marriages, ruined finances, stalled careers, poor mental and physical health.
“It is abundantly clear that the Ministry of Justice breached the duty of care it owes to our service personnel and veterans. They owe a duty of care in law, under the military covenant, morally and ethically to stand by those who serve.”
Ms Meredith-Beckham said a redress scheme would avoid the process becoming “mired in litigation with lawyers talking to lawyers and our brave servicemen and women forced to relive their worst nightmares in court. It is time for the government to do the right thing”.
Mr Wood supported her call: “The allegations were absolutely horrific – unlawful killing, mutilation and mistreatment of prisoners of war. That just did not happen. Phil Shiner’s criminal conduct has left a trail of devastation. Lives have been ruined. Innocent men and women have been driven to the brink of suicide.”
He added that “all those members of the legal system who sent character letters in support of Shiner should hang their heads in shame”.
PJ Kirby KC was one of the few lawyers who sought to bring balance to the social media commentary.
He tweeted: “I don’t seek to defend Phil Shiner but the reporting of his sentencing is generally wildly inaccurate as to what he pleaded guilty to and the amounts involved. Why do people not read the published sentencing remarks? …
“He was sentenced for using a fixer to get clients and for paying referral fees – not declaring it and receiving £200k in legal aid much of which would have gone to counsel (now an LJ and J). He was not sentenced for lying about atrocities or with regard to £3m.”
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