Mudassar Arani tells Philip Hoult that she has run a gauntlet of hate because of her work.

Imagine receiving a toilet roll through the post with a picture of Osama Bin Laden scrawled on it.

The message reads: 'Ooh Mr Terrrorist, wipe, flush and smile.'

At best a puerile and unfunny joke, you might think, if you were being overly charitable.

It becomes even less funny, however, when Mudassar Arani, sole principal of Southall-based firm Arani & Co and recipient of the message, reveals it is part of a series of anonymous threats and intimidation she has received in recent weeks.

Ms Arani says she has been the target of cranks since the Sun newspaper claimed on its front page that she was the 'mastermind' behind controversial Muslim cleric Abu Hamza's fight against deportation.

She denies the claim, saying she is not advising Mr Hamza on the case because he has not been granted legal aid.

The Sun article also claimed that her firm had 'raked in more than 200,000 of taxpayers' cash' in 2003, and went on to name the type of vehicle she drove and the area of west London where she lives.

Ms Arani has taken the tabloid to the Press Complaints Commission over the article, but it has yet to adjudicate.

Meanwhile, the letters have continued.

'Why don't you and your fellow scumbags return to your original lands?' started one.

'I am quite sure it will not be so profitable for you as you are happy to take western money.

One day you will all rot in hell...

so f*** off.'

The latest offering said: 'I think it is absolutely disgusting that you are helping an animal like Abdul (sic) Hamza stay in this country.

What is with you people? You seem to hate everything that is English so why don't you leave here?'

Perhaps most worrying of all - and something Ms Arani has passed on to the police - was that her firm's details had been placed on the Web site of a far-right group.

A contributor to the site, she says, described her as a 'traitor to the UK and the UK way of life - she is a bitch and we need to sort her out'.

Ms Arani adds that she had recently received a call from a journalist contact who had heard that a contract had been taken out on her and that her premises were going to be the subject of an arson attack.

She has also received threatening phone calls.

Admitting that the situation is 'a nightmare', she says she has had to change her way of life as a result of the threats.

She has swapped her car and borrows those of members of her family to get to work.

She no longer uses her normal route to work and she is suspicious if a car is following behind her.

Arani & Co's offices have been made more secure, with CCTV and a buzzer system, so that people cannot gain access unless staff know who they are.

'It can be very frightening - you do not know if these threats are going to be carried out,' she continues.

'It is so sad because it is as if your independence is being taken away.'

But it is not just Ms Arani that has been affected - she says some of her employees are thinking of leaving as they do not feel safe.

Unsurprisingly, she maintains that the press has been at fault.

'The press owe a duty not to carry this hate campaign against individuals over to lawyers,' she says.

'The press are abusing this power they have got.'

Ms Arani maintains that at the heart of her situation is the issue of an individual's entitlement to legal representation, whoever they are and whatever they might have done, and the type of society we want to live in.

'You can't have a rule where one person should not be entitled to legal representation - where do you draw the line?' she asks.

'One of the reasons we are proud of the system in Great Britain is that there is a fair procedure and everybody is treated equally and judged on the evidence.

Are people saying that there should be categories of individuals - such as murderers or paedophiles - who should not be entitled to legal aid?'

Ms Arani admits that when she was first on the receiving end of the intimidation, there was a part of her that regretted doing the high-profile work because it was not worth the risk.

In this respect, she would be like 'quite a few' ethnic minority solicitors she says she knows who will not take these cases on because they are frightened about the implications for their safety.

But, as time goes on, she has decided she will not be intimidated, that she is only doing her job, and that the work is challenging and exciting.

She is also grateful for the support from clients, including those in Belmarsh Prison, who have asked after her welfare and have encouraged her to carry on.

Defiantly, she says: 'I am only going to live once and I will live the way I want to.'