Cameron doubles down with crusade against legal aid lawyers

Legal aid firms that bring legal claims against the Ministry of Defence (MoD) are squarely in the prime minister's crosshairs after David Cameron's 'declaration of war' on 'ambulance-chasing' lawyers.

The Iraq Historic Allegations Team (IHAT) is currently considering 1,500 alleged claims of mistreatment by British service personnel in Iraqi.

A Downing Street source told the Daily Mail that the prime minister was 'deeply concerned at the large number of spurious claims' made against members of the armed forces.

'He is absolutely clear that action needs to be taken and has asked the National Security Council to produce a clear, detailed plan on how we stop former troops facing this torment,' they said.

According to the newspaper, the prime minister wants to impose a strict time limit for lodging abuse claims; a ban on foreigners from claiming legal aid if they have not lived in the UK for 12 months; and a clamp down on nconditional fee agreements (CFAs).

The former armed forces minister Sir Nick Harvey told the BBC earlier this month that lawyers were looking to cash-in on the MoD abuse claims.

The ex-Liberal Democrat MP also questioned why, at a time when legal aid was being cut back for British citizens, public money was being provided by foreign nationals to bring claims against the MoD.

The query has also been echoed by practising lawyers, such as Seddons's Mark Lewis, who tweeted: 'What I find hard to understand is the availability of legal aid to foreigners when so many deserving Here [sic] don't get [legal aid]'.

Last week, Hilary Meredith, who handles compensation claims for military personnel, wrote: 'The legal aid loophole allowing non-UK tax payers to use public money to sue our armed forces needs to be plugged - NOW '.

The Legal Aid Agency has been asked to review all legal aid contracts and consider if legal aid should be restricted to any firm under investigation for misconduct.

Leigh Day has found itself besieged by critics over recent weeks. Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions on 6 January, the Conservative MP Stewart Jackson described the firm as 'immoral, thieving, and ambulance-chasing lawyers' which 'specialise in hounding out brave service personnel in Iraq with spurious claims'.

The firm is to go before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) after a number of allegations were made against it following an investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) into the findings of the Al Sweady inquiry.

It has been reported that the defence secretary, Michael Fallon, wants to recover a proportion of the £31m inquiry from Leigh Day if the SDT finds against the firm.

Asked by the newspaper if the government was considering legal action against the Leigh Day, the No 10 source said: 'It would be unprecedented for the government to sue a law firm in this way - but if they are found to have acted improperly, then it will be the right thing to do.'

Responding to the latest twist in this story, a spokesperson for Leigh Day said: 'Over the last 12 years many case of abuse made against the MoD during the course of the occupation of Iraq have come to light and been accepted by the government.'

Such claims include the torture and killing of Iraqi hotel receptionist Baha Mousa by British troops in 2003. An inquiry into the death in 2011 found Mousa died having suffered an 'appalling episode of serious gratuitous violence' while in British custody in Basra.

'In addition, the government has pad compensation for over 300 other cases relating to abuse and unlawful detention of Iraqis,' continued Leigh Day. 'The vast majority of serving army soldiers do a first-class job in protecting this country but the evidence shows that this is by no means the case for all.

'We have a justice system in this country that enables people to obtain justice if they have suffered abuse, damage or loss at the hands of anyone. No-one is above the law, not us, not the British Army and not the government. We cannot imagine that the prime minister is proposing that this should change.'

The firm once again refuted the allegations laid against it by the SRA and would contest them 'vigorously' before the SDT.

A spokesperson for the firm told SJ that it was not in receipt of legal aid for the Iraqi compensation claims in which it is instructed but are acting under CFAs.