Man claiming legal aid had £57,000 cash

Published on Saturday 4 July 2009 11:20

A MAN who claimed £1,400 of legal aid while he had almost £60,000 in savings has been ordered to do 200 hours of community service.

Lawrence Howkins, 47, claimed the money to employ solicitors to represent him at six hearings over domestic problems at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in December 2006.

But an audit by the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) showed Howkins had around 7,000 in his HBOS current account, with another 50,000 in a high-interest saving plan.

Rules governing the granting of legal aid state that anyone with more than 7,000 in savings should pay at least some of their own costs.

And yesterday at Edinburgh Sheriff Court Howkins, of Morrison Gardens, South Queensferry, was ordered to do unpaid work after admitting six charges of fraud.

His solicitor, Ewen Roy, said his client had not wanted to access the high-interest account as it would have affected how much it earned.

Sheriff Mackie slammed Howkins for using up public money that had been set aside for those who really cannot afford legal help.