Ex-solicitor Blacker banned after inquiry into his advice charity

A former solicitor advocate who went by the name of Lord Harley has been banned from leading a charity for 15 years after ignoring a disqualification order.

Dr Alan Blacker, the founder of JAFLAS (Joint Armed Forces Legal Advocacy Service), was automatically prevented from acting as a charity trustee after he was convicted of benefit fraud in 2020.

The Charity Commission opened an inquiry into JAFLAS in 2022 when it emerged that Blacker continued to hold significant control over the charity’s funds and remained listed on Companies House as a director and ‘person with significant control’.

In a report published yesterday, the commission found the remaining trustees failed to show a ‘clear distinction’ between the charity and a private company controlled by Blacker.

The inquiry found similarities in the names of the company and charity and a proposed transfer of assets into Blacker’s business, which is not permitted under charity law. Donations made through the charity’s website went to Blacker’s account and his continued involvement amounted to ‘serious misconduct and/or mismanagement’ in running a charity.

The commission said other trustees were ‘uncooperative and obstructive’: legally-binding orders and directions of the commission were ignored or not answered in full and no substantial records were provided.

The charity was dissolved in December 2022 and it was removed from the public register.

Blacker’s automatic disqualification from being a trustee or senior person in a charity had been due to expire in October. As well as extending that ban the commission said it had referred its concerns to Greater Manchester Police. Three other trustees, Paul Bohill, Stephen Ashforth and Julie Ashforth, were disqualified for 10, seven and seven years respectively from November 2023.

Amy Spiller, head of investigations at the Charity Commission, said: ‘The commission is clear that a disqualified individual cannot continue to act in a position of power within a charity. However, our inquiry found that Dr Blacker held a dominant position at JAFLAS prior to and following his automatic disqualification.’

Blacker first came to wider attention 2014 when he was told by a judge following a trial that he looked like ‘something out of Harry Potter’. He was struck off in 2016 after the SDT found he falsely claimed to have academic and other qualifications, including a knighthood.