A CROOKED lawyer who made false murder and torture claims against hero Iraq war veterans has avoided jail over legal aid fraud.
Phil Shiner, 67, pursued cases against soldiers accused of ill treating Iraqi detainees after the 2003 Iraq War.
PADisgraced Phil Shiner was sentenced today[/caption]
PA:Press AssociationShiner was struck off in 2017[/caption]
Robert Campbell faced a manslaughter charge because of a false story brought against him
He raked in hundreds of thousands of pounds in legal aid clash to bring hundreds of claims against British troops over alleged war crimes.
The cases resulted in “untold pressure and anxiety” for a number of soldiers, one of whom revealed how he attempted suicide after Shiner’s lies.
But the lawyer had hidden the fact that complainants alleging murder and torture by British troops were provided by an agent making cold calls.
In a humiliating retreat, Shiner confessed to a host of misconduct charges in 2016 and was struck off the following year.
The admission came after £25million was wasted on a public inquiry investigating 2,200 claims – none of which were found to be true.
He admitted three counts of defrauding the Legal Services Commission for funding to pursue claims in September.
But Shiner avoided being sent to prison today.
He was given a two-year prison sentenced suspended for two years at Southwark Crown Court.
Addressing Shiner, who is now bankrupt, Judge Christopher Hehir said: “You have already suffered professional and personal ruin and I do not consider it necessary to add to that by sending you straight to prison.”
The now ex-lawyer, who was wearing a navy pinstripe suit and a red tie, showed no emotion as the sentence was passed down.
It comes after one soldier, Colour Sergeant Brian Wood, who was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry and bravery, was one of 200 soldiers whose reputations were besmirched by Shiner.
Brian, 44, described how Shiner “destroyed so many veterans’ lives and careers by accusing those people — myself included — of murder, mutilation and mistreatment”.
His story was told in BBC drama Danny Boy in 2021.
Shiner was the principal solicitor of law firm Public Interest Lawyers.
He launched compensation claims against British peacekeepers operating in Kosovo back in 1999 and a £2billion damages claim against the UK Government for alleged discrimination against Gurkhas in 2002.
Shiner then saw launched cases against British troops who had helped to topple the brutal regime of dictator Saddam Hussein.
He made an application the Legal Services Commission in 2007 in which he sought up to £200,000 of legal aid funding.
This was for his firm to represent clients including Khuder Al-Sweady, a 19-year-old who allegedly killed unlawfully at Camo Abu Naju after the Battle of Danny Boy, in an application for judicial review.
Shiner made bogus claims alleging that militia fighters killed by British troops were actually farmers who had been murdered and mistreated.
The claims resulted in the five-year-long Al-Sweady Inquiry being set up in 2009, in which Shiner obtained legal aid to represent Iraqi citizens.
However, the inquiry and legal aid board was not aware Shiner had actually paid Iraqi agent Mazin Younis £500 a time to get claimants to fill in questionnaires.
Rather than “innocent farmers, many of the people making allegations against the soldiers were instead enemy militia.
The Al-Sweady inquiry was subsequently dropped due to a lack of evidence in 2014.
It found many of the “statements” obtained by the human rights lawyers had contradicted each other.
A panel also concluded the most serious claims of murder and torture were “entirely false” and the product of “deliberate lies”.
BBCDanny Boy, which retold Shiner’s bogus claims, was shown on the BBC in 2021[/caption]
Brian Wood was among the soldiers impacted by Shiner’s disgraceful actionsRex
But another inquiry, the Iraq Historic Allegations Team, was created in light of Shiner’s claims and continued to persecute troops for another three years.
One of the false stories resulted in dad-of-two Robert Campbell, a major in Iraq, facing a manslaughter charge.
When an Iraqi drowned in 2003, it was alleged that Robert had forced him into the water.
But repeated investigations found that the young man had jumped in after running away from Allied troops.
The Sun and lawyers representing the betrayed veterans that helped expose Shiner’s deception.
The revelations led to the Iraq Historic Allegations Team being shut down.
Shiner was then struck off after the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal proved 21 misconduct charges against him, including making false allegations against the soldiers.
He failed to disclose that an agent acting on his behalf and with his knowledge had been cold-calling and making unsolicited approaches to potential clients in Iraq.
He also failed to disclose that he was paying referral fees.
In total, Shiner illegally claimed £200,000 for his firm to represent clients.
He was also convicted for providing a witness statement to the commission in support of his application, which was again gained by an unsolicited approach.
His Birmingham-based law firm has also since collapsed.
Reacting to the sentencing today, Mr Campbell said: “The listing in court was a very benign documents case that didn’t reflect the human element of what he has done in the slightest.
“Of course he should have gone to jail. His poison has spread far beyond the Iraq War.”
Sian Mitchell, a CPS specialist prosecutor, said Shiner “defrauded a statutory legal body for his own selfish motives”.
Ms Mitchell added: “As a result of the deliberate failure to disclose his serious breaches of the rules governing legal aid and his professional code of conduct, Shiner was able to retain his highly lucrative legal aid contract and obtain taxpayer-funded legal aid payments.”
The CPS has commenced confiscation proceedings in order to reclaim the proceeds of the fraud.
It’s payback for lawful deceit
By TOM TUGENDHAT, Former Minister for Security
PHIL SHINER has made a career out of suing Britain.
Over three decades he has brought actions against the UK government and state institutions time and again. You may say, that’s what the rule of law is all about – holding everyone to the same standard.
But in his case, that’s not true. As he has admitted by pleading guilty to fraud, he lied.
He lied about British Forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. He lied about abuses. He lied again and again.
Now he has finally been caught. But his lies have cost many so much.
In some ways they have cost all of us.
First, his real victims have been the brave soldiers he dragged through the courts.
Men and women who have served with dignity and courage were accused of any number of crimes and turned from heroes into targets because of his dishonesty.
The stress has cost marriages, careers and lives. That alone would be bad enough, but the truth is worse.
Shiner’s actions have weakened Britain and empowered our enemies.
He started out practising environmental law, but not in the way that many would understand it.
Shiner was bringing “lawfare” against our nuclear capabilities, not trying to build a greener world.
Challenging our nuclear operations at the Faslane naval base in Scotland was not about the environment, it was about our defence.
His harassment of soldiers dissuaded many from serving, and the lawfare he used against so many will have convinced others the risks were too great. That’s cost us all.
His legal career raises the question so common in criminal trials – who gains?
Who gains from our defence being eroded, our soldiers being made risk-averse and our Government reticent to act in our own national interest?
One thing is clear – it is not the British people, and his sentence is payback for that deceit.