Shamima Begum’s lawyer fined £6,500 for breaches in antisemitic broadcast

A solicitor who took part in a PressTV broadcast titled Mishcon de Reya – Zionist Law Firm has been found guilty of two breaches of the profession’s code of conduct.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal decided on Thursday that Tasnime Akunjee misled or attempted to mislead and that he abused his position when he took part in the programme in September 2022.

It found that the Iranian state-sponsored channel’s broadcast was antisemitic in tone and content though the panel also made clear that no allegation of antisemitism was being made against Akunjee. Two other accusations relating to recklessness and to events that took place after the broadcast were found to be not proven.

A pre-recorded clip shown in the programme, part of PressTV’s Palestine Declassified series, describes Mishcon de Reya as “deeply bonded to Israel at every level of the company”, concluding: “Watch out, [the firm] could have you on their hit list.”

Akunjee, a criminal defence solicitor, was fined £6,500 for the breaches and ordered to pay costs of £30,000. The SRA had sought costs of £45,480 for what it described as “an unusual case” that had required considerable advice and preparation.

Louise Cullerton, for the SRA, reminded the panel that in January this year Akunjee had been rebuked by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority for reckless and abusive tweets, in a matter that was not passed to the tribunal.

David Gottlieb, representing Akunjee, argued in mitigation that the makers of the programme, which is still available online, “took advantage of someone who was grieving the death of their brother”. Akunjee’s brother died tragically in April 2022.

Gottlieb also said the matter had had “harsh consequences” for Akunjee personally, and that the disciplinary proceedings hanging over him had been one reason why he had changed his mind and decided not to stand as an MP in this year’s general election. Akunjee had intended to put himself forward as an independent candidate in Bethnal Green and Stepney to try to unseat Labour’s Rushanara Ali over her refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Giving evidence on the first day of the three-day hearing, Akunjee, 46, a former lawyer for so-called Isis Bride Shamima Begum and a former pupil at City of London School for Boys, had said he had not realised until after arriving at the PressTV studio exactly what the broadcast was going to be about, and that mistakes he had made when being interviewed were due to the fact that he had not adequately researched or prepared for the topic.