An immigration solicitor whose firm was shut down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority after a Daily Mail undercover investigation has lost a complaint to the press regulator over the paper’s coverage.
Rashid Khan complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) about two articles, headlined ‘Lawyers charging up to £10,000 to make fake asylum claims’ and ‘Don’t admit you came here to work – they will send you back’.
The Mail’s story appeared to feature legal advisers being secretly filmed speaking to someone they believed was an economic migrant seeking to stay in the UK, but who was actually an undercover journalist. According to the article, Khan had asked the reporter to ‘write down the reasons why he was no longer safe in India, only minutes after he was informed that there were none’, and that he had told the reporter: ‘You write one page and bring it to me. I’ll turn it into four pages’.
It also said that the complainant told the reporter 'to make up something' for the immigration authorities; and that 'he can’t help [the reporter] apply for asylum if he doesn’t say "his life is in danger back home"'.
Khan's practising certificate was suspended by the SRA after the articles were published in July last year and the south-west London firm he worked at, Rashid and Rashid, was shut down.
Khan maintained that he acted at all times with integrity, honesty and according to his code of conduct and subsequently complained to IPSO that the articles were inaccurate and breached the prohibitions on journalists using clandestine devices and subterfuge. He also disputed the accuracy of the Mail’s translation and transcript of the recordings and provided his own versions to IPSO.
But, after considering all versions of the translations, the committee decided it was not inaccurate to report that Khan had told the reporter to ‘make up something‘ for the immigration authorities and to ‘lie to the Home Office’.
The committee also deemed the use of undercover filming and publication of the footage to be in the public interest, and said the camera enabled the publication to ensure matters were correctly reported.
