A Merseyside law firm has been accused of "serious misconduct " by bringing private prosecutions which were without merit.
Widnes based solicitors Parry & Welch brought two private prosecutions in association with charity Animal Protection Services (APS) .
The law firm and charity brought prosecutions against Alex-Kaye Carrigan and Elisha Brown who were charged with unlawfully selling pets.
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James Parry, a well known Merseyside solicitor, is a partner in the specialist firm. Kate Welch, also a solicitor, is the second partner.
Jacob Lloyd, described in court as an animal rights activist, is a director of APS.
But on Friday ( November 5) honorary recorder of Manchester Judge Nicholas Dean QC found that Parry & Welch and APS had engaged in "misconduct."
The judge said: "My concluded view is that there was serious misconduct by both APS and Messrs Parry and Welch both in commencing and in continuing the prosecutions of Ms Carrigan and Ms Brown, misconduct so serious that it represents an affront to the conscience of the criminal justice system."
The judge, during a hearing at Manchester Crown Court, criticised the decision to bring private prosecutions against Alex-Kaye Carrigan and Elisha Brown.
He said: "As I have already found, the proceedings against Ms Carrigan and Ms Brown were brought and pursued for wholly improper reasons and purposes. As the guidelines of the Private Prosecutors Association correctly say, where criminal legal process is being used against another primarily to accomplish a purpose for which it is not designed, then such may amount to abuse of process – to improper manipulation of the criminal justice system."
Judge Dean said that the private prosecutions appeared to have been motivated in part by the chance to earn fees.
He said: "In my judgement, and based on the material put before me relevant to Ms Carrigan and Ms Brown, the primary reasons APS, with the support of Messrs Parry and Welch, commenced proceedings against Ms Carrigan and Ms Brown was to seek to punish them, quite regardless of whether they had in fact committed any offence, and to recover fees at (at least) a grossly exaggerated (in terms of both prosecutor’s and litigator’s fees) level. I cannot go so far as to say that what occurred was systematic fraud, but the breakdown of prosecutor’s and litigator’s fees does not stand up to scrutiny."
The judge said that the evidence in both cases consisted of 'near identical' two-page witness statements made by an employee of APS, which he said 'must have been copied and pasted from other statements.'
Parry & Welch claimed £12,769 costs for the two cases from central funds. Judge Dean described the costs schedules from APS and Parry & Welch as 'works of almost pure fiction'.
Judge Dean said that in his view APS shared the blame with Parry and Welch.
He said: "In my judgement, APS and Messrs Parry and Welch share equal responsibility for this misconduct and for what I conclude is, in relation to both Ms Carrigan and Ms Brown, abuse of process. In the context of the standards of integrity expected of prosecutors and those who conduct criminal proceedings, this was particularly egregious misconduct."
Judge Dean also raised serious questions about the relationship between Jacob Lloyd of APS and Parry and Welch.
He said: "The evidence put before me also demonstrated that James Parry, Kate Welch and Jacob Lloyd were equal (and the only) shareholders in a limited company Private Prosecution Services Limited (PPSL), a company incorporated in early 2021.
"I was told, although this was not substantiated by any evidence from Mr Lloyd and was denied by Mr Parry (who was unable to say more on the issue because he was, he considered, bound by legal professional privilege not to reveal or discuss the nature of his instructions from and advice to Mr Lloyd), that Mr Lloyd had been made a shareholder in PPSL by Mr Parry without being informed of that by Mr Parry.
"At the very least, the incorporation and shareholding of PPSL demonstrates links between James Parry, Kate Welch and Jacob Lloyd going beyond the arms’ length professional relationship of solicitor and client."
Judge Dean also said that he would ensure a copy of his judgement was sent to the police and other authorities.
He said: "The concern I have is that APS, sometimes in conjunction with Messrs Parry and Welch, may have been involved in systematic fraud and in perverting the course of public justice. I have concerns that individuals may have pleaded guilty to offences in the Magistrates’ Court as a consequence of being misled by APS and possibly Messrs. Parry and Welch, or without scrutiny taking place of their actions (in terms of possible abuse of process).
"In all the circumstances, I intend to send a copy of this judgment (with the statements and exhibited material produced in the cases of Ms Carrigan and Ms Brown) and a copy of HH Judge Lloyd’s judgment, to the Attorney-General’s office, to Greater Manchester Police, to the Charities Commission and to the Solicitors Regulation Authority. It will be for those bodies to decide whether to investigate further."
The prosecutions against Alex-Kaye Carrigan and Elisha Brown were stayed by the court.
The ECHO approached Parry & Welch and APS for comment.
Jacob Lloyd, director of APS, told the Law Society Gazette that APS 'strongly denies any allegation that it has been involved in a fraud' and is considering an appeal.
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