Barrister disbarred years after being struck off as a solicitor for misleading the high court
An unregistered barrister has been disbarred more than four years after being struck off the roll of solicitors for the same misconduct, following findings that he deliberately misled the High Court.
Peter Matthew James Gray, who was called to the Bar in October 1999, was disbarred after a disciplinary hearing concluded that his conduct was dishonest, prejudicial to the administration of justice and likely to diminish public confidence in the legal profession.
The decision was made by a five-person panel at the Bar Tribunals & Adjudication Service. The tribunal also ordered that Gray must not be issued with a practising certificate pending any appeal and directed him to pay £24,654 in costs.
The findings relate to Gray’s conduct during High Court proceedings in September 2013 and November 2014. At the time, he was practising as a solicitor. He was later found to have “deliberately deployed a misleading strategy” by providing misleading evidence and correspondence to the court.
Embed from Getty Images
Gray was struck off the roll of solicitors in March 2021 following a hearing before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. His appeal against that decision and sanction was dismissed in March 2022, confirming the seriousness of the findings against him.
Although the misconduct occurred while Gray was acting as a solicitor, the Bar regulator explained that it was appropriate to delay its own disciplinary action until the conclusion of proceedings brought by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, including the appeal process.
As a result, the Bar proceedings were brought several years after the original conduct and subsequent strike-off. The tribunal nevertheless concluded that Gray’s actions met the threshold for the most serious sanction available to it.
A spokesperson for the Bar Standards Board said the outcome reflected the gravity of the misconduct and the expectations placed on barristers, regardless of whether they are practising or acting in another legal capacity.
“The public rightly expects barristers to act with honesty, whether practising or acting in another legal role,” the spokesperson said. “Misleading the court and others in legal proceedings is a serious failure to meet these expectations, and the tribunal’s decision to disbar Mr Gray reflects this.”
The ruling underscores the regulators’ position that misconduct affecting the administration of justice can lead to disciplinary consequences across professional roles, even where significant time has passed since the original events. It also highlights the willingness of regulators to act once parallel disciplinary processes have been fully concluded.