SRA chair Anna Bradley refuses to resign after LSB report exposes regulator’s SSB law failings
The chair of the Solicitors Regulation Authority, Anna Bradley, has ruled out resigning following a damning Legal Services Board (LSB) report into how the regulator handled the collapse of SSB Law, insisting that the organisation needs continuity of leadership to implement reforms.
Speaking at the SRA’s annual compliance conference in Birmingham on 21 October 2025, Bradley said she would stay on until the end of her term next year to ensure stability as the regulator begins a period of change.
Bradley was asked directly whether she intended to step down after the LSB’s review found that the SRA had failed to act on more than 100 reports over five years warning about non-compliance at the Sheffield-based firm. The review concluded that the regulator allowed thousands of vulnerable clients to be exposed to significant financial risk, including adverse costs orders, by not intervening sooner.
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Rejecting suggestions that she should quit, Bradley said: “The board are very clearly of the view we need to retain a bit of continuity as this process [the appointment of the new chief executive] happens. Continuity of leadership to ensure lessons are learnt and changes are properly implemented. We are very focused on doing that and continuity is important for it.”
Bradley reiterated her apology to delegates at the conference and to the former clients of SSB, confirming that the SRA would adopt all of the LSB’s recommendations in full.
The oversight regulator’s report, published last week, accused the SRA of missing multiple opportunities to protect consumers and criticised its handling of intelligence, supervision, and enforcement. It urged the SRA to overhaul its knowledge management systems, staff training, and procedural frameworks to prevent similar failures in future.
Outgoing chief executive Paul Philip, who leaves his role next month, told delegates that the SRA’s lack of data about SSB Law represented a critical weakness. “It was an obvious area of weakness that we did not have the required data about SSB to gauge the risk posed by the firm,” he said.
Philip warned that the regulator would now adopt a more intrusive approach to monitoring law firms, particularly those operating in high-risk areas such as consumer claims, conveyancing, and immigration. “In order to identify more risks and patterns, we need more data – particularly where we identify high-risk areas,” he said. “Perhaps we will be asking better questions and demanding better information from those firms.”
He added that the SRA would become “more pro-active and penetrative”, conducting more frequent inspections and requiring firms to disclose detailed information about how they are managed.
One of the first major changes expected to follow the LSB’s recommendations is a tightening of the rules governing accountants’ reports. At present, law firms must submit reports to the SRA only if their accountant has formally qualified them. However, a public consultation is expected in the coming weeks on whether to require all firms to submit such reports, regardless of qualification status.
Despite acknowledging the need for greater scrutiny, SRA leaders also warned that such expanded supervision might not be sustainable under current financial constraints. Philip highlighted that the regulator is already facing a significant workload increase, with annual complaints about solicitors rising from 12,000 a decade ago to more than 15,000 in 2025.
“It is causing a bit of strain on the system – there is no doubt about that,” Philip said, noting that the organisation’s existing budget may need to be reviewed to meet the demands of the LSB’s recommendations.
Bradley, who has chaired the SRA since 2018, reiterated that her focus remains on implementing reforms rather than stepping aside. “We will continue to refresh and renew the skills we have available,” she said, adding that the regulator must now “rebuild public confidence” following the findings.
The LSB’s report concluded that the SRA’s failures had “weakened trust and confidence” in the regulation of legal services and caused “significant harm and distress” to affected clients.
Bradley said that under incoming chief executive Sarah Rapson, who joins next month, the SRA would prioritise rebuilding trust and strengthening its early-warning systems to prevent similar oversight failures.