Justice secretary Alex Chalk MP has written to the Solicitors Regulation Authority urging it to re-examine the immigration sector after media reports of abuse of the system. Chalk also pressed the regulator to take ‘necessary and robust action’ against any practitioner found to be in breach of their professional duties.
Government attempts to intervene into legal regulation are rare, but the issue of alleged misconduct by immigration lawyers has been a political talking point this week, making the front page of the Daily Mail and even prompting comments from prime minister Rishi Sunak.
The Mail carried reports of several immigration lawyers appearing to tell an undercover journalist they could coach them to game the asylum system to secure residence in the UK.
In his letter to SRA chair Anna Bradley, Chalk says he was ‘appalled’ by the reports of alleged abuse of the legal system. ‘I would strongly encourage you to use the full force of sanctions available to you against solicitors where there is a finding of a breach,’ Chalk told the SRA.
‘It is vital that we show the public – and the majority of honest and professional solicitors – that this kind of abuse of the system will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly.’
Last year, the SRA carried out a thematic review of immigration and asylum legal services to investigate the nature, extent and impact of any concerns about misconduct in the sector.
The regulator found firms needed to have stronger evidence that supervision takes place but that most complied with regulatory requirements and generally provided a good level of service.
Firms were reminded about the importance of good record keeping, reporting misconduct in other firms and appropriate supervision of less senior staff.
Chalk said the recent allegations of misconduct should prompt the SRA to undertake a targeted follow-up to this review as soon as possible. He asked for an update on plans to do this, as well as an assessment of which interventions in the sector have been successful.
The lord chancellor added: ‘I know that the overwhelming majority [of solicitors] take their professional duties and obligations extremely seriously. However, any examples of practices which fall short of the high ethical standards we expect of solicitors risk serious disruption to the immigration system, tarnishing the reputation of those working in this area, and critically undermining public confidence.’
The SRA has said it is aware of the Mail’s story and that it will take action against any solicitor or firm found to have breached the rules.
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