A former human rights lawyer due to be sentenced for fraud charges linked to claims made against Iraq War veterans has been branded a liar who “duped the legal establishment glitterati into thinking he was on some kind of crusade” by a former soldier.
Phil Shiner, who was the principal solicitor of the law firm Public Interest Lawyers, was struck off as a solicitor in 2017 at a tribunal after being found guilty of misconduct and dishonesty relating to false abuse claims against British troops.
The 67-year-old will be sentenced for fraud at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday, after admitting that an agent acting on his behalf had been cold-calling potential clients in Iraq.
(Shiner) duped the Ministry of Defence, he duped human rights groups, he duped the legal aid authority, he duped the BBC and he duped the legal establishment glitterati into thinking he was on some kind of crusade and he wasn’t
He also admitted paying referral fees, both of which breached the terms of being granted a legal aid contract as part of a judicial review.
Robert Campbell, who was a major in the Royal Engineers, was accused of drowning Iraqi teenager Saeed Shabram in a river in Basra in May 2003, and was scrutinised in eight investigations into the 19-year-old’s death, including one for possible manslaughter, before he was ultimately cleared.
In 2020, judge Baroness Hallett decided there was “no reliable evidence upon which it would be proper to conclude” that Mr Campbell or any other British soldier pushed or forced Mr Shabram into the water.
Mr Campbell told the PA news agency on Monday: “We were investigated eight times before we were exonerated because Phil Shiner just kept lying and lying and lying.”
The 51-year-old, who was medically discharged from the army in 2018, will be attending Shiner’s sentencing hearing.
“I want to catch his eye,” he said, “I want to look at him. I want to see what he looks like.
“I wish I could address the court but I can’t because he’s not actually being sentenced for lying about me he’s just being sentenced for fraud.”
Asked what he would say to the court if he had the opportunity, Mr Campbell told PA: “(Shiner) duped the Ministry of Defence, he duped human rights groups, he duped the legal aid authority, he duped the BBC and he duped the legal establishment glitterati into thinking he was on some kind of crusade and he wasn’t.”
Shiner made an application to the Legal Services Commission in 2007 in which he sought up to £200,000 of legal aid funding for his firm to represent clients including Khuder Al-Sweady, in an application for judicial review.
According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), he received around £3 million in the value of the contract, and the ensuing Al-Sweady inquiry into allegations of mistreatment and unlawful killing of Iraqi nationals by British troops in 2004 cost the taxpayer £24 million.
The inquiry found that Mr Al-Sweady’s nephew, Hamid Al-Sweady, had been killed “outright” whilst fighting, and had been a “willing and active” participant in an attack on British forces. It concluded that the most serious claims of murder and torture were “entirely false” and the product of “deliberate lies”.
In making his application, Shiner 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.
This practice was not permitted as part of gaining a legal aid contract, the NCA said.
Shiner was also convicted for providing a witness statement to the commission in support of his application, which was again gained by an unsolicited approach.
As a result of his failure to disclose this information, Shiner was able to gain a “valuable legal aid contract to enable him to pursue the judicial review”, the NCA said.
Shiner, who is currently on bail, will be sentenced for three counts of fraud on Tuesday.
