'Harry Potter' lawyer Blacker struck off

'Harry Potter' lawyer (Lord) Alan Blacker has been struck off and fined for several acts of misconduct, including accounts failures and misleading claims about his credentials.

Last week, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) ordered Lord Harley, 44, to be struck off the roll and pay £86,000 in costs, after proving seven out of eight allegations during the two- day trial.

Blacker, who was absent from the hearing because it was scheduled for his birthday, was exonerated from 'recklessly misleading' Judge Wynn Morgan at Cardiff Crown Court, in a case where the judge accused Blacker of dressing like 'something out of Harry Potter'.

However, the panel found that he had failed to maintain accounts while working as an in-house solicitor at the Joint Armed Forces Legal Advocacy Service charity and made inaccurate and misleading statements regarding his academic qualifications and past accreditations.

Ed Levey, for the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), said he was unaware how much Blacker had benefitted financially from his lies, or how many clients had gone to him believing his credentials.

The Fountain Court Chambers barrister also dismissed Blacker's claims that he had worked in banking in the 1980s as his career in banking would have begun during his late teens.

The SDT's ruling should draw this long-running saga to an end. However, Blacker has 21 days from the written judgment to appeal.