High Court fines solicitors for 'cynically milking' the legal aid system

A High Court judge publicly condemned a firm of solicitors yesterday for "cynically milking" the legal aid system by bringing hopeless cases on behalf of asylum-seekers.

The London solicitors face further investigation by the Law Society and the Legal Services Commission after Mr Justice Maurice Kay described the bogus applications as the "worst case of abuse" uncovered by the Treasury Solicitor. He ordered the firm, Jonathan & Co, to pay the Home Secretary £17,000 in "wasted costs" relating to 13 "grossly incompetent" applications for judicial review that should never have been brought and involved "a grave dereliction of duty".

The judge said Jonathan & Co was clearly not alone in "cynically milking" the system. Figures released in November by the National Audit Office (NAO) show that solicitors' fees for representing asylum-seekers rose to £138m, more than double the £58mthe Government paid solicitors and advisers who provided legal advice on immigration in 2000-01. The fees are expected to rise to some £150m this year.

Extensive overcharging by some solicitors on publicly funded work was also uncovered by the inquiry into the new Legal Services Commission, which oversees and funds legal aid in England and Wales. The Government has now set in train changes to the immigration system that will penalise solicitors who bring "unmeritorious claims".

On Wednesday another High Court judge, Mr Justice Collins, ruled against the Government's tough immigration policy, saying it forced immigrants to choose between returning to persecution in their country or a life of destitution in Britain. His judgment threatened to derail David Blunkett's plan to deny food and accommodation to immigrants who do not claim benefits within a reasonable time limit. Mr Blunkett, the Home Secretary, said he would appeal the decision.

Yesterday, Mr Justice Kay, sitting in London, also ordered that a copy of his judgment be sent to the Office of Supervision of Solicitors, a body set up by the Law Society to deal with complaints against solicitors. The judge said a copy should go to the Legal Services Commission, which deals with the public funding of court actions.

In a 90-minute ruling, he described how the 13 applications made by Jonathan & Co, of Dalston, north London, were either refused when they first came before a judge on paper or thrown out when they were renewed in open court. Eleven of the cases, all involving immigration issues, were funded by legal aid, while the funding of the other two was "obscure".

Ordering his judgment to be sent to the Office of Supervision of Solicitors and the Commission, the judge said: "I hope they will feel able to ensure that Jonathan & Co do not benefit financially from their work in relation to these 13 cases."