Jeremy Corbyn's new shadow defence secretary faced an immediate row today as it emerged she took a donation from a law firm accused of pursuing false torture claims against British soldiers.
Emily Thornberry accepted the money from Leigh Day, which faces a tribunal over the way it handled the claims, which were described as “deliberate lies” by the UK’s legal watchdog.
Ms Thornberry, Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury, dismissed the controversy today. But a Tory member of the Commons defence committee demanded she hand back the donation, worth £14,500, and called it “despicable”. The row came less than 24 hours after she was appointed to the defence brief, and threatened to overshadow the Labour leader’s first reshuffle.
Ms Thornberry declined to say whether she would hand the donation back, saying it was a “non-story” and that Leigh Day were a “great firm”.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority referred the London-based firm to a disciplinary tribunal yesterday, over the way it handled allegations that British soldiers were involved in the torture and murder of detainees in Iraq.
The Al-Sweady inquiry, established to investigate the matter, found that the serious claims against UK forces were “deliberate lies, reckless speculation and ingrained hostility”.
It is alleged Leigh Day overlooked the significance of a key document which cast doubt on the claims. The firm is also accused of touting for clients and entering into a prohibited referral fee agreement. The firm denies the allegations, and says the decision to refer it a to the tribunal was “premature”.
The Commons register of members’ interests shows the donation in kind involved the secondment of a Leigh Day researcher to support the MP’s work.
