Omar Khan handed three-year prison term back in April last year
A criminal barrister has been disbarred by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) today following his conviction for a serious drug-related offence.
Omar Khan — who was called to the bar in 2009 and went on to qualify as a solicitor three years later — pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to supply a class A drug in March 2016. He was jailed for 40 months by Nottingham Crown Court.
According to a report at the time, the conspiracy — which involved three other men — took place between 1 October and 1 December 2015, and involved the “recovery of 1kg (2.2lb) of cocaine”.
Following Khan’s conviction the BSB brought three charges against him for engaging in conduct which is likely to diminish the trust and confidence the public places in him or the profession. A BSB spokesperson has now said:
A conviction for conspiring to supply a Class A substance and subsequent prison sentence is incompatible with membership of the bar. The tribunal’s decision to disbar Mr Khan reflects this.
At the time of his arrest in 2015, Khan — who is from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire — was a lawyer at the Midlands office of The Johnson Partnership. The firm, ironically, specialises in criminal defence.
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