Author: Shekhar Bhatia
Publication: Daily Mail
Date: November 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1082909/Lawyers-London-Al-Qaeda-bomb-plot-gang-cost-taxpayer-5-million.html
Lawyers defending a terror gang cost the taxpayer
£5 million in legal aid, it was revealed today.
Ringleader Dhiren Barot intended to murder
thousands by detonating bombs on the Heathrow Express, under the Thames and
in US buildings including the New York Stock Exchange.
He admitted conspiracy to murder and was jailed
at Woolwich crown court with seven members of his gang in November 2006.
But he and his gang's case cost millions after
Barot waited almost two years before he finally entered a guilty plea - knowing
he faced an 80-year sentence if he denied his role and was found guilty.
The Court of Appeal later decided to reduce
his minimum tariff from 40 to 30 years.
That process alone is likely to have added
tens of thousands of pounds to the cost to the taxpayer.
Among those who profited from the case was
Barot's solicitor, Mudassar Arani, who has already earned thousands of pounds
more in legal aid from other terror cases including that of the jailed extremist
cleric Abu Hamza.
Other lawyers who would have received legal
aid payments were Ian Macdonald QC and barrister Ali Bajwa, who represented
Barot when he appealed against his sentence.
But he and his gang's case cost millions after
Barot waited almost two years before he finally entered a guilty plea - knowing
he faced an 80-year sentence if he denied his role and was found guilty.
The Court of Appeal later decided to reduce
his minimum tariff from 40 to 30 years.
That process alone is likely to have added
tens of thousands of pounds to the cost to the taxpayer.
Among those who profited from the case was
Barot's solicitor, Mudassar Arani, who has already earned thousands of pounds
more in legal aid from other terror cases including that of the jailed extremist
cleric Abu Hamza.
Other lawyers who would have received legal
aid payments were Ian Macdonald QC and barrister Ali Bajwa, who represented
Barot when he appealed against his sentence.
A spokesman for the Legal Services Commission
said today: 'Dhiren Barot was one a group of eight who faced Crown Court charges
related to a terror plot.
'The cost of defence for the trial and an
appeal against sentence stands at £5,007,645.
'While the Commission recognises the sensitivity
of funding such cases, our justice system and the principle of a fair trial
requires that people accused of committing a crime are not prejudged and should
have legal representation to defend themselves, regardless of whether the
decision is unpopular.'
He added that the decision to grant legal
aid in criminal cases is made by the court after applying an 'interests of
justice test'.
It considers a number of factors including
whether an individual is likely to lose their liberty and the complexity of
the case.
Barot, from Kingsbury, planned a 'black day'
of terror in a series of co-ordinated bombings with the help of a gang of
seven men each recruited for their expertise in various aspects of the plot.
He wrote: 'Imagine the chaos that would be
caused if a powerful explosion was to rip through London and actually rupture
the river itself.'
Barot was described as the most high-profile
terror leader ever captured in Britain, with direct links to Osama bin Laden.
