>__PM accuses Labour of backing ‘deceptive’ asylum claim lawyers__
>Matt Dathan, Home Affairs Editor
>Wednesday July 26 2023, 12.01am BST, The Times
>Rishi Sunak has accused the Labour party of siding with lawyers found to have falsely submitted asylum claims in exchange for thousands of pounds.
>An investigation by the Daily Mail revealed that multiple solicitors had agreed to help an undercover reporter posing as an economic migrant submit a fake application in exchange for £10,000.
>One of the firms the newspaper targeted was Duncan Ellis Solicitors in Colliers Wood, south London, where a legal adviser named VP Lingajothy agreed to invent a back story to use in an asylum application. The story included claims of sexual torture, beatings, slave labour, false imprisonment and death threats that had led to suicidal thoughts and had compelled the applicant to flee to the UK.
>Lawyers are forbidden from misleading courts and they can be struck off by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) for dishonesty or a lack of integrity. The SRA said it was looking into the reports before deciding whether to launch its own investigation.
>Yesterday the prime minister politicised the revelations, accusing Labour of being on “the same side” as “deceptive lawyers” because the party opposed the Illegal Migration Act — his flagship legislation to tackle the small boats crisis. In response to the undercover revelations, Sunak tweeted: “This is what we’re up against. 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 cabinet ministers followed suit, with Grant Shapps, the energy secretary, tweeting: “Labour seem to want criminal gangs and deceptive lawyers to decide who comes to the UK — that’s why they tried to block every vote on stopping the boats.”
>Sunak’s decision to use the news story as an opportunity to attack Labour increases the heat of the political attacks between the two parties. It comes after Labour was criticised for publishing personal attack adverts that claimed the prime minister did not think adults convicted of child sexual assaults should go to prison following rock-bottom prosecution rates for sexual offences. Sir Keir Starmer has also accused Sunak during prime minister’s questions of being out of touch because of his wealth.
>The Labour MP Chris Bryant, who chairs the Commons standards committee, condemned the prime minister’s language. “In his desperation he has plumbed a new depth,” he said.
>Suella Braverman, the home secretary, urged police to “track down and punish” immigration lawyers who were helping migrants submit false asylum claims in exchange for thousands of pounds. Braverman said she was “appalled” by the investigation’s findings, tweeting: “I expect the authorities to track down and punish any lawyers or firms found to be engaging in these kinds of practices.
>Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, added: “These individuals have no place in the legal profession.”
>Emily Thornberry, Labour’s shadow attorney-general, said the SRA must open an investigation over the “absolutely disgraceful” remarks recorded in the conversations. “It is vital that we have a credible asylum process in our country,” she said.
>“At the very least, the Solicitors Regulation Authority will need to open an urgent inquiry into these individuals and their firms, but if there is evidence that they have facilitated fraudulent asylum claims in real-life cases, and made financial gains from doing so, then that should rightly be a matter for immediate investigation by the police.”
>The SRA said it was gathering information before deciding on next steps. “All solicitors should uphold the high professional standards that we and the public expect of them. This is especially important in areas such as immigration, where those involved may be among the most vulnerable in society,” it said in a statement.
>“If we find evidence that solicitors or firms we regulate have acted in ways that contravene our rules, and in particular their duty to act legally and uphold the law, we can and will take action.”
Absolutely ridiculous, yet based on recent threads some r/UK posters will likely lap this up. You’re being played.
True or not, now it’s been said it’ll be repeated endlessly by those who support the Tories.
There will be a troupe of gimps, trudging along open mouthed to lap up these lies being spread by the PM.
I don’t like Thornberry but she’s right – the SRA is the body to hold the solicitors to account, and they’re investigating.
4 comments
>__PM accuses Labour of backing ‘deceptive’ asylum claim lawyers__
>Matt Dathan, Home Affairs Editor
>Wednesday July 26 2023, 12.01am BST, The Times
>Rishi Sunak has accused the Labour party of siding with lawyers found to have falsely submitted asylum claims in exchange for thousands of pounds.
>An investigation by the Daily Mail revealed that multiple solicitors had agreed to help an undercover reporter posing as an economic migrant submit a fake application in exchange for £10,000.
>One of the firms the newspaper targeted was Duncan Ellis Solicitors in Colliers Wood, south London, where a legal adviser named VP Lingajothy agreed to invent a back story to use in an asylum application. The story included claims of sexual torture, beatings, slave labour, false imprisonment and death threats that had led to suicidal thoughts and had compelled the applicant to flee to the UK.
>Lawyers are forbidden from misleading courts and they can be struck off by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) for dishonesty or a lack of integrity. The SRA said it was looking into the reports before deciding whether to launch its own investigation.
>Yesterday the prime minister politicised the revelations, accusing Labour of being on “the same side” as “deceptive lawyers” because the party opposed the Illegal Migration Act — his flagship legislation to tackle the small boats crisis. In response to the undercover revelations, Sunak tweeted: “This is what we’re up against. 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 cabinet ministers followed suit, with Grant Shapps, the energy secretary, tweeting: “Labour seem to want criminal gangs and deceptive lawyers to decide who comes to the UK — that’s why they tried to block every vote on stopping the boats.”
>Sunak’s decision to use the news story as an opportunity to attack Labour increases the heat of the political attacks between the two parties. It comes after Labour was criticised for publishing personal attack adverts that claimed the prime minister did not think adults convicted of child sexual assaults should go to prison following rock-bottom prosecution rates for sexual offences. Sir Keir Starmer has also accused Sunak during prime minister’s questions of being out of touch because of his wealth.
>The Labour MP Chris Bryant, who chairs the Commons standards committee, condemned the prime minister’s language. “In his desperation he has plumbed a new depth,” he said.
>Suella Braverman, the home secretary, urged police to “track down and punish” immigration lawyers who were helping migrants submit false asylum claims in exchange for thousands of pounds. Braverman said she was “appalled” by the investigation’s findings, tweeting: “I expect the authorities to track down and punish any lawyers or firms found to be engaging in these kinds of practices.
>Robert Jenrick, the immigration minister, added: “These individuals have no place in the legal profession.”
>Emily Thornberry, Labour’s shadow attorney-general, said the SRA must open an investigation over the “absolutely disgraceful” remarks recorded in the conversations. “It is vital that we have a credible asylum process in our country,” she said.
>“At the very least, the Solicitors Regulation Authority will need to open an urgent inquiry into these individuals and their firms, but if there is evidence that they have facilitated fraudulent asylum claims in real-life cases, and made financial gains from doing so, then that should rightly be a matter for immediate investigation by the police.”
>The SRA said it was gathering information before deciding on next steps. “All solicitors should uphold the high professional standards that we and the public expect of them. This is especially important in areas such as immigration, where those involved may be among the most vulnerable in society,” it said in a statement.
>“If we find evidence that solicitors or firms we regulate have acted in ways that contravene our rules, and in particular their duty to act legally and uphold the law, we can and will take action.”
Absolutely ridiculous, yet based on recent threads some r/UK posters will likely lap this up. You’re being played.
True or not, now it’s been said it’ll be repeated endlessly by those who support the Tories.
There will be a troupe of gimps, trudging along open mouthed to lap up these lies being spread by the PM.
I don’t like Thornberry but she’s right – the SRA is the body to hold the solicitors to account, and they’re investigating.