SRA chief: 'My decision to quit has nothing to do with Axiom Ince'

The chief executive of the Solicitors Regulation Authority has insisted that his decision to step down this year has nothing to do with the Axiom Ince scandal – telling journalists he had been planning to retire for a while.

Paul Philip was asked during a post-board media briefing yesterday when and why he decided to leave. It was the first briefing since the SRA announced he would be retiring this year.

Philip told journalists ‘you do not want the chair and chief executive to leave at the same time’. It was better to have chair Anna Bradley remain ‘because I have always been keen to go around about the end of this year. It was not a sudden decision. It has been on my mind for quite a number of years’.

Bradley was due to step down at the end of her six-year term last year and the regulator advertised for a new person to fill the £105,000-a-year post. However, the board decided at its September 2024 meeting to extend her term until the end of 2026.

The SRA is over halfway through its current corporate strategy and will need to start considering the next one, Philip said. 'It’s important the new chief executive is in place to do that.'

The past few months have been turbulent for the SRA. The regulator came in for intense criticism from solicitors for its defiant response to last October’s independent report commissioned by super-regulator the Legal Services Board into the collapse of Axiom Ince, which cost the profession dear in hugely increased payments to the compensation fund. The LSB began enforcement action against the SRA over the collapse, finding that the regulator failed to act 'adequately, effectively and efficiently'.

Philip told journalists last November that he would not be stepping down because 'there is still a lot of work to do'. Asked yesterday about his response, Philip said the question had been 'framed against Axiom Ince. It is definitely not the reason why I decided to step down. I had in my mind I would probably go at the end of this year. It has nothing to do with the Axiom Ince incident'.

The chief executive was also asked during yesterday's briefing about the SRA's decision to consult again on its controversial plans for greatly enhanced fining powers. Philip said the board 'has had a first discussion about where it goes from here' and will consult on proposals 'later this year'.

This article is now closed for comment.