The Solicitors Regulation Authority has charged two solicitors with misconduct related to the Post Office scandal, the first disciplinary actions in the case.
Jane MacLeod, the Post Office’s general counsel from 2015 to 2019, is accused of not fully cooperating with the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry. The SRA states she did not provide oral evidence when asked between April and July 2024.
MacLeod, now living in Australia, refused to appear before the inquiry either in person or via video link. Inquiry counsel Jason Beer KC informed chair Sir Wyn Williams that she would not testify. Her time at the Post Office coincided with the Bates litigation, a central legal dispute in the scandal.
The SRA decided to proceed because the charges were unlikely to disrupt ongoing criminal investigations or the public inquiry. The allegations have not been proven and will be examined by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
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Nick Gould, a solicitor who represented former sub-postmistress Seema Misra without charge during her successful 2021 appeal, faces separate accusations. The SRA alleges he did not provide proper cost details, sent unjustified invoices, and exchanged inappropriate correspondence. It also claims he breached client confidentiality involving two unnamed individuals.
Misra’s conviction was quashed in 2021 after evidence showed the Post Office’s Horizon IT system contained errors. After the appeal, Gould signed a contract for paid legal services and later charged her £60,000 in fees. The SRA’s notice covers his conduct from May 2021 to April 2025.
Gould worked as a partner at Aria Grace Law CIC until February 2025 and now operates as an independent consultant at Impact Lawyers Ltd. He did not respond to requests for comment.
The SRA continues broader investigations into solicitors’ involvement in the scandal. Jonathan Peddie, the authority’s executive director of investigations, enforcement, and litigation, stated they would take action if regulated solicitors failed to meet standards. The SRA is collaborating with the inquiry team and the Metropolitan Police on Horizon-related cases.
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No hearings have been set. Both cases await review by the SDT, and the allegations remain unproven.
The scandal, which led to hundreds of wrongful convictions due to faulty Horizon software, has triggered multiple investigations. Over 900 convictions have been overturned, and compensation claims are still being processed.
MacLeod’s refusal to testify complicates the inquiry’s work. The SRA’s pursuit of these cases indicates a focus on addressing conduct after the scandal, even as wider legal and regulatory consequences unfold.
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