Solicitor Martyn Day has told a tribunal that he did not consider the impact on soldiers of making allegations that they tortured and killed Iraqi detainees.
Day, the senior partner at human rights firm Leigh Day, was asked repeatedly during today’s hearing at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal whether he stopped to think what effect his claims were having on those he accused.
The tribunal heard last week from Colonel James Coote, a major at the Battle of Danny Boy in 2004, who said his sleeping disorder returned following allegations made public at a press conference held in 2008 by Day, alongside Public Interest Lawyers director Phil Shiner.
Day was asked by Timothy Dutton QC, representing the SRA, whether he ‘paused’ before the conference to think of those whose lives would be affected.
The solicitor replied: ‘I paused to make sure we were satisfied there was decent evidence to put forward the points we were making. It is always true, when you bring a claim, there are people on the other side who are upset you are bringing a claim. I don’t think it is my job to worry about that.’
Dutton asked again whether Day thought of the ‘serious impact’ on Coote and his colleagues.
Day responded: ‘We wanted to make sure there was a public inquiry. Colonel Coote made the point he felt the whole matter had been resolved in 2004/05… we were right to press for a public inquiry. That is simply the way the justice system works.’
Dutton asked once more: ‘Did you give any consideration to the impact of what you and Mr Shiner were saying on Major Coote?’ Day replied: ‘I thought I already answered that. No.’
Day said the press conference was an ‘adjunct’ to the process of litigation, but Dutton said Day had ‘lost sight’ of the effects of his words and questioned whether he had ‘lost [his] professional independence’ at the press conference.
The solicitor said: ‘We were saying to the public, having had the opportunity to interview these people [the clients alleging mistreatment] and seeing the strength of the other evidence, we thought from what we had seen it was more than likely to be true than not, but more crucially there had to be a public inquiry.’
Asked by Dutton whether he accepted his conduct was reckless, Day replied: ‘Not for second.’ He added: ‘It seems to me what we were doing was in the best role of a solicitor, which was being independent of your own government and the Ministry of Defence and getting to the bottom of allegations made against our armed forces.’
Earlier, Day said he felt his clients were motivated by seeking the truth rather than getting money from litigation.
He was questioned on comments made by Shiner at the press conference that those listening should not believe ‘those with most to hide’.
Dutton said: ‘What you and he were doing was inviting the press to treat the army as liars.’
Day said: ‘He [Shiner] was saying there has been such significant evidence emerging from what happened in Iraq that to suggest it was just a couple of bad apples responsible for the odd incident was wrong and there was much more systematic abuse taking place.’
Leigh Day and three solicitors, Day, Sapna Malik and Anna Crowther, all deny wrongdoing. The hearing continues.
Day: 'It wasn't my job to worry about impact on Iraq veterans'
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