Lawyer in the news

Who? Wah Piow Tan, 48-year-old partner at two-partner firm Tanburghs, and Tanburghs O'Brien Lahaise inKilburn, north London.Why is he in the news? Represents families who fear their relatives may be among the 58 victims who died last week in a lorry while being smuggled into the UK.

He urged the Home Office to grant amnesty to those who come forward: clients include asylum-seekers pending appeal, failed asylum-seekers facing removal, and illegal immigrants.

They will not come forward for fear of deportation to China.

He is also appealing to the Netherlands to grant amnesty to eight illegal immigrants who have information regarding the identity of the victims.Background: A political exile from Singapore in 1976, graduated fromBalliol College Oxford in 1987.

Called to the Bar in 1989, specialising in crime, judicial review, immigration and personal injury.

Became a solicitor in 1996, when he became a partner with Thomas Andrew & Tan, now renamed Tanburghs.Route to the case: The clients are among Mr Tan's existing base of 2,000 Fujianese clients.Thoughts on the case: 'There is more politics to deal with than matters of law.

There is no obligation for the Home Secretary to grant amnesty as proposed; it is a matter of political will to exercise his discretion which may be challenging in today's political climate where immigration is a hot potato.

The case has snowballed beyond control, and the momentum is set by the intensity of the grief of families who are unable to assist themselves and could only use our law firm as the conduit with the Home Office.'Dealing with the media: 'Media interest exploded following my appearance on Newsnight on the night of the tragedy.

Because of the media interest, both here and abroad, we have to deal with constant media enquiries, keeping in mind our primary objective to achieve amnesty so as to facilitate the process of identifying the bodies.

The media interest is very useful as it can only help to persuade the Home Office to accede to our request.

It also encouraged those who feared their loved ones were in the truck to contact our firm.

The downside of the media interest is that all normal work at the office had to grind to a halt.'

Jeremy Fleming