Second Solicitor Arrested in Legal Aid Investigation

Tue, 16 Feb 2010

A solicitor from Portsmouth has been arrested in connection with an alleged legal aid scam. Hugh Pringle, a defence solicitor and partner at Wessex Chambers law firm, handed himself into Gosport police station upon his return from a holiday in the Caribbean . His arrest follows that of another lawyer, Howard Barrington Clark, who was arrested last week. 55 year old Mr Barrington Clark was arrested on suspicion of false accounting and committing an act or acts with intention to pervert the course of justice . Both solicitors have been bailed pending further enquiries.

The arrests are part of Operation Beef – an investigation being carried out by Hampshire’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit into alleged fraudulent claims of public money. In particular, the arrests relate to alleged fraudulent claims of legal aid, designed to help individuals who cannot afford the lofty legal costs charged by lawyers, barristers and legal firms .

The use of legal aid funds has come under scrutiny in recent months, with several reports critical of the misuse of public money, and the Legal Services Commission subject to criticism for overpaying lawyers and solicitors by £25 million a year.
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