Complaint Review: Ian Macdonald QC - Birmingham Select State/Province

On 11 June 2014, Macdonald was charged with six offences for failing to properly manage Kings Court Chambers. His joint head of chambers and now co-accused, Tariq Rehman, faces twelve charges...

http://www.tbtas.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/hearings/3004/Charge-Sheet-Macdonald-QC.pdf

http://www.tbtas.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/hearings/3002/Charge-Sheet-Rehman-D5-March-15.pdf

A five person disciplinary tribunal convened on 16 March 2015 for three days; it is expected to reconvene on 5 May 2015, where it is hoped that matters will be concluded against both Macdonald and Rehman. Rehman is no stranger to disciplinary tribunals, having been found guilty at three earlier tribunals...

https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/regulatory-requirements/the-barristers'-register/?ProfileID=2d8a7e57e629a238f50961910df61fe0

Rehman is the first member of any legal profession to be named and shamed by the Legal Ombudsman...

http://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/downloads/documents/press_releases/1014-Public-interest-decision.pdf

Another barrister formerly of Kings Court Chambers (Henry Olusola Davies) was also found guilty by a disciplinary tribunal...

https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/regulatory-requirements/the-barristers'-register/?ProfileID=efc52ad8c8b25e39ff87d69407971378

You can read more about Davies here...

http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Henry-Olusola-Davies/Birmingham-Select-StateProvince-B4-7UD/Henry-Olusola-Davies-Kings-Court-Chambers-Birmingham-Internet-1099367

There are just two barristers remaining at Kings Court Chambers, Tariq Rehman and Nigel Andrew Duncan Wray. According to the Legal Ombudsman, Tariq Rehman was the most complained about barrister in England & Wales during 2014 (which no doubt prompted them to name and shame him) The second most complained about barrister in England & Wales in 2014 was Nigel Andrew Duncan Wray!

Although Wray is still listed as a barrister on Kings Court Chambers website, he has no practising certificate (accdording to the Bar Standards Board website) so is unable to provide the services of a barrister. With Rehman receiving a two month suspension from practice on 30 March 2015 (albeit that he can continue to practice, subject to appeal) it seems that Kings Court Chambers days are numbered.

The author of this report fully expects Rehman to be be removed from the barrister's register. It is hoped that Macdonald's sentence means that he will never practise law again.

Kings Court Chambers has also traded under the names: KC Chambers, Hilton Chambers and, more recently, The Barristers Chambers. The company that provided clients to Kings Court Chambers has also changed a few times. At first, UK Visa and Immigration forwarded clients to Kings Court Chambers, then it was UK Immigration Barristers but, most recently it has been UK Visa Hub. It appears that none of these entities is now trading.

In an earlier report it was noted that Macdonald had resigned from the presidency of The Immigration Law Practitioners Association (ILPA) He continued to be a member after resigning as president but ILPA have now confirmed that he is suspended from membership. But Macdonald continues to practise as a barrister at Garden Court Chambers as well as Garden Court North Chambers.

A further update to this report will be made after the hearing on 5 May.

In March 2012, Ian Macdonald QC was head of Garden Court North Chambers, a tenant at Garden Court Chambers, President of the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (ILPA) and embarking on a new venture as joint head of Kings Court Chambers.

Within 15 months, Macdonald resigned as head of Kings Court Chambers and left the set altogether. Now, just a few months later, Macdonald has resigned as president of ILPA and has been replaced as head of Garden Court Chambers North by Mark George QC.

This is what ILPA had to say about Ian Macdonald's retirement...

"Ian Macdonald has today announced his retirement as President of ILPA. Ian is retiring because he will be 75 on his next birthday and wishes to reduce his commitments and safeguard his health. Ian also wishes to retire as President to enable new blood to take on the task of challenging the Government policy on immigration, legal aid and access to justice. He will remain a member of ILPA. Ian has been President of ILPA for 24 years and we are extremely grateful to him for his dedicated service and support over those years. Ian was instrumental in setting up ILPA and his commitment to create an organisation with a strong secretariat backed by a chair and executive committee of practitioners has been achieved. ILPA has continued to develop and grow as an organisation and it is now a good opportunity for Ian to step aside and allow the next generation of immigration practitioners to step forward."

Garden Court North Chambers was somewhat terse in its announcement...

"Mark George QC elected Head of Chambers  

Kings Court Chambers looks set to be engaged in a legal battle with one of the top immigration law sets in the country - Garden Court Chambers - over copyright issues.

This surprising development follows the publication of three pages of text on Kings Court Chambers website; text that existed on Garden Court Chambers website, months before Kings Court Chambers was set-up some two years ago.

The three pages of text in question are: Kings Court’s Complaints Procedure, Quality Policy and Terms of Business, all of which were copied from Garden Court Chambers’ website and published (with some amendments) on Kings Court Chambers’ site…

kingscourtchambers.com/complaints.php

kingscourtchambers.com/quality-policy.php

kingscourtchambers.com/terms-of-business.php

Copied from:

gardencourtchambers.co.uk/imageUpload/File/Complaints%20Procedure.pdf

gardencourtchambers.co.uk/imageUpload/File/App%201_d_%20-%20Quality%20policy%20statement.pdf

gardencourtchambers.co.uk/client_care/index.cfm

Quite why Kings Court Chambers should tempt fate by provoking one of the largest chambers in the country into litigation is not clear; it is akin to a chihuahua stealing a bone from a bulldog and waiting to see if it bites. And bite, it surely will.

This leads embattled QC, Ian Macdonald, into yet more controversy as former head of both rival chambers, a rivalry that dates back to at least July 2012 when Garden Court Chambers sought to disassociate itself from Kings Court Chambers with an announcement on its website…

gardencourtchambers.co.uk/news/news_detail.cfm?iNewsID=753

The copyright theft from Garden Court Chambers may well have occurred after Macdonald left Kings Court Chambers. If so, Macdonald cannot be held responsible. But there were other acts of copyright theft whilst Macdonald was still head of Kings Court Chambers, for which he must share responsibility as joint head of chambers, alongside Tariq Rehman...

Even as early as September 2012. Kings Court Chambers stole the Terms of Business of an immigration advisory service, UK Visa Specialists Ltd (t/a UK Visa and Immigration)

web.archive.org/web/20130924154252/http://kingscourtchambers.com/terms-of-business.php

Copied from:

.gardencourtchambers.co.uk/client_care/index.cfm

It is interesting that Kings Court Chambers chose to steal the text from UK Visa and Immigration as a BBC investigation into UK Visa and Immigration found that when it ceased trading, another company called UK Immigration Barristers arose out of its ashes. Although UK Immigration Barristers acts as an intermediary for King Court Chambers, it denied to the BBC that it had any connection to UK Visa and Immigration.

Those stolen Terms of Business show that Kings Court Chambers claimed to have the same Hiscox Public Indemnity Insurance Policy Number as UK Visa and Immigration. That is highly unlikely as such a policy could probably not be transferred from an incorporated body to a barristers chambers. Additionally, all the barristers at Kings Court Chambers are self-employed, meaning they are required to obtain their public indemnity insurance individually through Bar Mutual, that has no connection to Hiscox..

The same stolen Terms of Business also suggest that Kings Court Chambers would hold client monies for payment as disbursements to third parties even though barristers are specifically forbidden from doing so.

As a highly experienced and leading silk, Ian Macdonald would have easily spotted that these business terms were unacceptable for a barristers chambers, so it does beg the question how those Business Terms ever came to be published on Kings Court Chambers website?

As joint head of Kings Court Chambers for around 18 months, Ian Macdonald must have had some responsibility to ensure that Kings Court Chambers was registered under the Data Protection Act. But, according to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) Kings Court Chambers has never been registered under the Act.

But Kings Court Chambers certainly claim to be registered under the Act...

http://www.kingscourtchambers.com/terms-of-business.php

and here Kings Court Chambers acknowledges it is a data controller under the Act...

http://www.kingscourtchambers.com/privacy-policy.php

In other words, Ian Macdonald QC may well be guilty of a criminal offence for failing to register Kings Court Chambers under the Act.

But it gets worse...

Kings Court Chambers works in close association with a company called Global Immigration Consultants, which trades as UK Immigration Barristers. UK Immigration Barristers is not registered under the Act either, but is controlled by highly organised fraudsters who, before infiltrating Kings Court Chambers, were in overall control of at least three solicitors' practices despite being unqualified.

One of those solicitors' practices was called Wolstenholmes. Solicitors at Wolstenholmes were struck off because they allowed these fraudsters to take control of their practice. Even those solicitors at Wolstenholmes who had no managerial control and were only employed for a matter of weeks at the firm and had no involvement in the fraud, were suspended from practice for up to two years. The Solicitors Regulation Authority has, so far, paid out £12.3m compensation to former clients of Wolstenholmes.

http://www.solicitorstribunal.org.uk/Content/documents/10840.2011.Ilyas.et.al..pdf

Macdonald must accept culpability for allowing these fraudsters to take control of Kings Court Chambers. He was joint head of chambers and remained there for 18 months. But Macdonald ignored all the warning signs. As early as July 2012, Garden Court Chambers (where Macdonald works) had issued a public announcement saying that it was unconnected with Kings Court Chambers. This was just weeks after Kings Court Chambers commenced working with UK Immigration Barristers.

http://www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk/news/news_detail.cfm?iNewsID=753

By September 2012, the BBC had completed an investigation into UK Immigration Barristers and submitted its findings to the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner (OISC) and the Bar Standards Board (who regulate Barristers) The Bar Standards Board have confirmed they are investigating the matter. Ian Macdonald’s involvement part in this sorry saga must form part of that investigation. Macdonald only left Kings Court Chambers in June 2013.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-20004900

Let's name a few of these fraudsters: Waseem Saddique and his brothers, Ajaz and Asad, Iftab Hussain, Mario Cardinali, Mohammed Kazi, Nasir Ilyas, Kamran Malik, Nadeem Akhtar, Paul Rooney and David Turley.

Nadeem Akhtar is the sole director of UK Immigration Barristers. He was also employed at another visa services company run by these fraudsters, UK Visa Specialists Ltd (that traded as UK Visa and Immigration) He also worked at Wolstenholme Solicitors in the post completions department.

Waseem Saddique appears to be the main man behind these frauds. He virtually ran Wolstenholmes Solicitors and is currently being sought by West Midlands Police after a bench warrant was issued for his arrest by Birmingham Crown Court on 21 June 2013. He is charged with fraud and perverting the course of justice in relation to what happened at Wolstenholmes. Saddique has also been banned by the SRA from working with solicitors.

http://www.causelist.org/23-09-2013/

http://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/solicitor-check/565398.article

Iftab Hussain has already pleaded guilty to his involvement in the Wolstenholmes fraud so is not standing trial but, for many others, their trials commenced just a few days ago. They include three solicitors - Paul Rooney, Kamran Malik and Nasir Ilyas.

Nasir Ilyas was the beneficial owner of Wolstenholmes and his wife has already been struck off the solicitors roll as was another solicitor working at Wolstenholmes.

http://www.solicitorstribunal.org.uk/Content/documents/10840.2011.Ilyas.et.al..pdf

Kamran Malik previously stood trial for his part in what was, at the time, the largest ever mortgage fraud in the UK, that brought about the collapse of the Cheshire Building Society and its forced merger with Nationwide. The jury could not reach a decision on his guilt.

http://www.sfo.gov.uk/press-room/press-release-archive/press-releases-2011/two-jailed-for-50-million-mortgage-fraud.aspx

http://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/solicitor-check/328998.article?Decision-2

Mohammed Kazi works at UK Immigration Barristers, heading the sales team. He was employed in the same role at UK Visa and Immigration. He had also worked at Wolstenholmes and has also been banned by the SRA from working with solicitors.

http://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/solicitor-check/565400.article?Decision-1

David Turley has been a director of Winnact, whose directors have also included Waseem Saddique, Ajaz Saddique and Iftab Hussain. Turley’s main claim to fame is that he was one of two men responsible for stealing millions of customers details from T-Mobile; the largest ever breach of the Data Protection Act.

http://companycheck.co.uk/company/04922355/WINNACT-LIMITED/directors-shareholders

http://www.ico.org.uk/~/media/documents/library/Data_Protection/Notices/tmobile_summary.pdf

So that brings us back to the data collected from clients by UK Immigration Barristers/Kings Court Chambers and previously by Wolstenholmes Solicitors and UK Visa and Immigration.

A Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal found that client records and disk drives were removed from Wolstenholmes just before the SRA’s intervention of the practice. At UK Visa and Immigration, clients sent valuable documents, such as passports, to the company but the company failed to return them. Now, at UK Immigration Barristers/Kings Court Chambers the same fraudsters are in control collecting client data.

http://www.solicitorstribunal.org.uk/Content/documents/10840.2011.Ilyas.et.al..pdf

The question must be what will these fraudsters do with the data collected once the fraud at UK Immigration Barristers/Kings Court Chambers is finally brought to an end? And what responsibility will Ian Macdonald QC accept when his former clients could, quite possibly, have their identities stolen?

Ian Macdonald QC must rue the day he ever set foot near Kings Court Chambers!!!!!!

One of many roles occupied by Ian Macdonald is long term president of the Immigration Law Practitioners' Association (ILPA)

The ILPA was founded in 1984 and Macdonald was immediately appointed president; he remains in that post 29 years on.

Given Macdonald's role in setting up Kings Court Chambers, is it appropriate that he continues as president of ILPA?

The Chairman of ILPA is Adrian Berry who, along with Macdonald, is a tenant at Garden Court Chambers. Surely, Berry must know of Macdonald's involvement with Kings Court Chambers and the fraudulent activity at those chambers? I wonder if Berry has made a complaint to the ILPA about Macdonald, under the ILPA disciplinary procedure?

Fresh information has revealed that Macdonald was a sitting tenant at Kings Court Chambers, working alongside the fraudsters who trade as UK Immigration Barristers at Albert House, Albert Street, Birmingham. Many of those who were trained by Macdonald were, apparently, law students from Birmingham University eager for their first step on the legal career ladder.

At least one of those former law students, Naveed Abraham, is now a trainee solicitor but Abraham has chosen to re-write history and remove any mention of working at Kings Court Chambers from his LinkedIn page and, presumably, his CV.

Some of those former law students, including Naveed Abraham, went on to create their own immigration companies, usually acting as intermediaries but it was never clear what legal practitioners they worked with or, indeed, if they are still trading. What does seem clear is that one fraudulent business model acted as the spawn to create similar businesses.

So, where does this scam leave Macdonald? He is no longer head of Kings Court Chambers but remains head of Garden Court North Chambers, president of the ILPA and a tenant at Garden Court Chambers, where he was head until 2002.

Perhaps it is time for Macdonald (who is now in his mid seventies) to step down from his legal duties? Surely, the ILPA cannot ignore an informal complaint about Macdonald that contains so much proof of corrupt practices? No doubt, they will just sidestep the issue or allow Macdonald to resign from its presidency, thus avoiding the embarassment of a QC being found party to a fraud.