Fury as the Bar Council attacks Rishi Sunak after the Prime Minister criticised immigration lawyers exposed by the Mail as trying to help migrants falsely claim asylum
- Bar Council under fire after attacking PM for criticising bent migration lawyers
- Rishi Sunak said he was fighting those profiting by getting people in UK illegally
- READ MORE: Lawyers charging £10,000 to make fake asylum claims
The Bar Council came under fire last night after it attacked Rishi Sunak for criticising bent migration lawyers exposed by the Mail.
The Prime Minister yesterday seized on our damning undercover investigation into the activities of unscrupulous individuals charging thousands of pounds to submit false asylum claims for illegal immigrants.
‘This is what we’re up against,’ he said. ‘The Labour Party, a subset of lawyers, criminal gangs – they’re all on the same side, propping up a system of exploitation that profits from getting people to the UK illegally. I have a plan to stop it.’
His intervention drew angry responses from both Labour and the Bar Council, which represents barristers. The legal body, which opposed the Government’s Illegal Migration Bill, acknowledged that ‘all professions have individuals who commit misconduct and are dishonest’.
But vice-chairman Sam Townend KC accused the PM of ‘playing politics with the legal profession’. He added: ‘This damaging rhetoric undermines the rule of law, trust in lawyers and confidence in the legal system and is to be deplored.’
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It emerged last night that Mr Townend is a former Labour councillor in Lambeth, south London, and has twice stood unsuccessfully to be a Labour MP.
READ MORE: Lawyers charging £10,000 to make fake asylum claims: Special investigation exposes staff at immigration law firms briefing clients on how to LIE to the authorities to win the right to stay in Britain
Tory former minister Jonathan Gullis said the ‘Lefty lawyers’ should focus on wrongdoing in their own profession rather than ‘getting their knickers in a twist’.
‘The truth is dodgy lawyers, exposed by the Mail, are helping illegal migrants falsely claim asylum,’ he said. ‘The Bar Council would do better calling out these rogue lawyers rather than getting pathetically triggered by a tweet.’
In other developments:
- Our investigation reveals today that lawyers helping conjure up fake asylum claims are telling migrants to find themselves a wife as a loophole around immigration controls;
- Writing in the Mail, Home Secretary Suella Braverman warns that some of the practices go beyond professional sanctions and are ‘potentially criminal’;
- Labour’s shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry said any evidence the law firms had facilitated real-life fraudulent claims would be ‘a matter for immediate investigation by the police’;
- The Solicitors Regulation Authority said it was looking into the Mail’s findings.
The Mail reported yesterday that some law firms are charging up to £10,000 to invent stories of torture, death threats and slavery to aid applicants claim refugee status. Our investigation found legal staff readily agreed to help submit false claims for an undercover reporter posing as an illegal migrant.
Marco Longhi, a Tory member of the Commons home affairs committee, urged the Bar Council to reflect on the ‘appalling’ conduct exposed by the Mail instead of criticising the Government. He said: ‘Attacking the PM for stating the facts as they are, does show that the council is more interested in reputation management rather than the potential crimes being committed.’
Fellow Tory Brendan Clarke-Smith said the PM had ‘hit the nail on the head’ and pointed out that Mr Sunak had referred only to a ‘subset of lawyers’. He added: ‘The Bar Council should be supporting him in challenging this immoral and in some cases illegal behaviour, not criticising him for standing up for the British people and the integrity of our legal system.’
A No 10 source said last night: ‘The PM is not afraid to say it as it is. And unlike Keir Starmer, he’s not afraid to do so in his own voice. Labour have voted time and again to frustrate every effort to strengthen our borders.’
The Prime Minister (pictured) yesterday seized on our damning undercover investigation into the activities of unscrupulous individuals charging thousands of pounds to submit false asylum claims for illegal immigrants
Stephen Kinnock, Labour’s immigration spokesman, described Mr Sunak’s intervention as ‘desperate’ and insisted his party was also appalled by the ‘absolutely disgraceful’ conduct exposed by the Mail.
Anna Firth, a former barrister who is Tory MP for Southend West, called for clarity in the law to crack down on rogue lawyers. ‘We absolutely need tough action to be taken against any unscrupulous lawyers who are seeking to get round our asylum system,’ she said. ‘I would welcome tough action being taken under existing laws such as perverting the course of justice, and a review of the law to ensure the law covers this.’
Steven Woolfe, an immigration barrister and director of the Centre for Migration and Economic Prosperity, called for rogue lawyers to be brought to justice.
He said: ‘I am surprised that there are still solicitors out there who are willing to breach not only their professional conduct under the Solicitors Regulation Authority – but also that of the law – by trying to encourage people to come to this country and make money from it as well.
‘I’ve heard lots of rumours about it from people who are saying it’s not just solicitors’ firms but non-governmental organisations and charities who are encouraging and advising people to lie to the Home Office.’
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