From the Square Mile to anti-capitalist campaigner in just three years
Police are reported to have in their crosshairs a former City lawyer who appears to have turned into a Che Guevara-style anti-capitalist revolutionary.
Until three years ago, by day Samir Dathi was a buttoned up, suited and booted Square Mile lawyer practising at commercial, charities and private client-specialist firm Royds, which is based in the shadow of St Paul’s Cathedral.
However, media reports yesterday suggested that Dathi — formerly a family law specialist — has been leading a double life and that London’s Metropolitan Police want to interview him regarding allegations of public order offences and criminal damage during last month’s VE Day commemoration celebrations.
Dathi’s Twitter handle is MegaLotusEater and his profile on the site describes him as a “former SOAS [School of African and Oriental Studies at London University] student, freedom of information lawyer and socialist. Anti-war, anti-austerity”.
Dathi’s LinkedIn profile (pictured above) still lists him as practising at Royds. And indeed, Internet searches of his name and that of the firm produced a live profile page on the Royds’ website.
However, today the firm whipped that page from view. Neither the Law Society nor Royds itself lists Dathi as currently practising at the firm.
His LinkedIn profile indicates that Dathi read law at Kings College, University of London, between 1998 and 2001.
A report in yesterday’s Mail Online said the City lawyer is 36 years old and that “until recently” he practised at Royds. The newspaper went on to claim that it secretly filmed Dathi giving “a speech to rabble-rousers planning to hijack [last weekend’s] anti-austerity rally in central London”.
The Mail also claimed that “Dathi was one of 16 who police wanted to talk to” in relation to allegations around the vandalising last month of a Whitehall memorial to women who served in the Second World War.
At the time of going to press, the most recent posts on Dathi’s Twitter feed suggested the police might have already interviewed him, although that point remains unclear.
@NotInMyNameUK Yeah it was ok thanks for asking. The microwave meal was tasty too
— Samir Dathi (@MegaLotusEater) June 22, 2015
In a statement issued within the last few minutes, Royds confirmed that Dathi joined the firm in April 2007 as an assistant solicitor in the family department. He left the practice in the summer of 2012.
Said the firm:
His resignation was tendered in order, as we understood at that time, to further pursue his studies. Royds have not been contacted by the police in relation to this matter and have not had any contact with Mr Dathi since his leaving the firm.
Dathi did not respond to Legal Cheek’s efforts to contact him today.