LONDON: A former British lawyer who became known for bringing lawsuits on behalf of Iraqi civilians accusing British soldiers of ill-treatment pleaded guilty on Monday to fraud, Britain’s National Crime Agency said.
Phil Shiner, 67, pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud relating to applications made in 2007 for public funding for legal action against the Ministry of Defense, the agency said.
Following the legal challenge led by Shiner, Britain launched a public inquiry into allegations of atrocities by British troops in 2004, after a battle at the Danny Boy checkpoint in southern Iraq.
Shiner and his firm Public Interest Lawyers, however, were widely criticized and the inquiry ultimately concluded in 2014 that allegations British soldiers executed captured Iraqi prisoners and tortured or seriously abused others were untrue.
The charges to which Shiner pleaded guilty related to his failure to disclose, when applying for public funding, that he had asked a middleman to approach potential claimants and had paid for referrals, which breached his firm’s contract, the NCA said.
“This conviction is a milestone in what has been a thorough and complex domestic and international investigation,” said Andy Kelly, head of the NCA’s International Corruption Unit, in a statement.
“Shiner’s actions resulted in untold pressure and anxiety on members of the British Armed Forces, pursuing legal challenges funded through dishonest actions.”
Shiner will be convicted at London’s Southwark Crown Court in December.
Ex-UK lawyer pleads guilty to fraud relating to Iraq abuse claims
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Ex-UK lawyer pleads guilty to fraud relating to Iraq abuse claims
- Phil Shiner, 67, pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud relating to applications made in 2007 for public funding for legal action
- Following the legal challenge led by Shiner, Britain launched a public inquiry into allegations of atrocities by British troops in 2004
No sign Iran’s nuclear sites were hit, IAEA says, but Iran alleges one was
VIENNA: The UN nuclear watchdog has no indication Israeli and US attacks on Iran have hit any nuclear facilities, its chief Rafael Grossi told the agency’s Board of Governors on Monday, moments before Iran’s envoy said one was targeted a day earlier.
Iran’s nuclear program has been among the reasons Israel and the US have given for the attacks, alleging Iran was getting too close to being able to eventually make an atom bomb.
At the same time, what remains of Iran’s atomic facilities after the two militaries attacked them in June appears to have been largely spared in this campaign so far.
“We have no indication that any of the nuclear installations ... have been damaged or hit,” International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement to a meeting of his agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors.
What that assessment was based on is unclear, since he also said his agency had not been able to reach its counterparts in Iran. Tehran has not let the IAEA return to its bombed facilities since they were attacked in June.
“Efforts to contact the Iranian nuclear regulatory authorities ... continue, with no response so far. We hope this indispensable channel of communication can be re-established as soon as possible,” he said.
Moments later, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, Reza Najafi, told reporters outside the closed-door meeting that the sprawling nuclear complex at Natanz had been attacked.
Natanz housed two uranium-enrichment plants that were attacked in June — an above-ground one that the IAEA says was destroyed and an underground one that was at least badly damaged, among other facilities.
“Again they attacked Iran’s peaceful, safeguarded nuclear facilities yesterday,” Najafi said. Asked by Reuters which facilities were hit, he replied: “Natanz” and left.
