Solicitors embroiled in the public inquiry into the Post Office IT scandal are under scrutiny by the regulator over their conduct in relation to the inquiry itself - as well as their role in the most widespread miscarriage of justice in British history.
In an update yesterday on its ongoing investigation, the Solicitors Regulation Authority stressed that it wants to take action as soon as possible where it finds evidence that solicitors ‘fell short of the standards the public expects’. Though declining to commit to an ‘exact timeline’, the regulator confirmed that it hopes to launch some prosecutions this summer.
The SRA has over 20 live investigations into solicitors and law firms who were working on behalf of the Post Office/Royal Mail Group. It is considering a ‘wide range of issues’, including:
- solicitors’ management and supervision of cases; and the strategy and conduct of prosecutions and of litigation (including group litigation - Mr Bates V The Post Office)
- duties relating to expert witnesses;
- disclosure obligations and improper application of privilege to protect communications from disclosure; and
- issues relating to the operation of the Post Office Complaint Review and Mediation Scheme, including overcharging of claimants, use of non-disclosure-agreements and labelling of correspondence.
‘We also are looking at the conduct of solicitors in relation to their engagement and cooperation with the public inquiry,’ it added.
The SRA said it has been gathering evidence under its own powers, by obtaining court orders requiring the Post Office/Royal Mail Group to provide relevant documents, and by reviewing the information shared through the inquiry.
‘The scale of the issues and documentation we are dealing with is unprecedented,’ its update discloses. ‘So far, our investigation has involved scrutinising tens of thousands of pages of information and evidence. New issues and evidence have been coming to light on an ongoing basis, particularly from the inquiry, which finished hearing evidence in December.’
The SRA added: ‘We are liaising closely with it to collect all relevant evidence, and with the police to understand what, if any action they might take.’
Paul Philip, SRA chief executive, said: ‘We will act as swiftly as we can, but it is important that we get this right. We owe that to everyone impacted in this case and the wider public.’
In a separate update, the bar’s watchdog said it is preparing to take action within months against barristers implicated in the scandal. The Bar Standards Board said that following the conclusion of Sir Wyn Williams’ inquiry, it ‘has continued to assess the available evidence of potential breaches of professional obligations by barristers involved in the Post Office cases and related litigation’.
The regulator added: ‘We have formed a dedicated staff team to carry out this work and have been liaising closely with the equivalent team at the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
‘We have been considering the large amount of evidence arising from the Inquiry as well as other information. We are likely to move forward with regulatory action in a number of cases in the next few months with a view to starting to put cases in front of our Independent Decision-Making Body in the summer for decisions on whether disciplinary action is warranted.’
Neither the SRA nor the BSB plan to impose interim curbs on the practising rights of any solicitor or barrister under investigation.
