Who? David Pountney, 34-year-old immigration and benefits solicitor at Bury Law Centre, Greater Manchester.

Why is he in the news? He represents an Iranian family of failed asylum seekers who last week lost their appeal against a decision to remove their benefits and evict them from their home in Bury. The Khanali family came to the UK in October 2003 claiming they were persecuted in Iran because they were Christians. The Home Office invoked section nine of the Asylum and Immigration Act 2003, which is being piloted in three areas, under which support can be withdrawn from unsuccessful families if they make no attempt to leave Britain once refused asylum. This decision came two weeks after the asylum appeal adjudicator ruled that the National Asylum Support Service (NASS) had to reconsider its decision to withdraw the Khanalis' benefits.


Background: Studied law and French, followed by the legal practice course at Manchester Metropolitan University. Trained with Avocet Solicitors in Luton, qualifying in 2003. He then worked at Sheikh & Co in Finsbury Park before joining Bury Law Centre three months ago.


Route to the case: 'The Khanali family came to us before I started working here. The law centre is the only supplier of immigration advice in Bury and there is none in Bolton or Salford, so we are in demand. I took over the case when I arrived.'


Thoughts on the case: 'We have not yet seen the adjudicator's reasons for the decision, but once we do we will consider the possibility of a judicial review. As NASS has now stopped supporting the family, it is up to Bury Metropolitan Council to decide what support it will give to the family. It has a duty under the Children Act 1989 to protect the welfare of the children, which could mean taking them into care - which would cost more than if they were supported by NASS. We hope the local authority will decide it is in the best interests of the children to keep them with their parents. If not, we will have the option of a judicial review against the local authority. There is a conflict between the immigration provisions and the entire body of legislation built up around the welfare state and the Children Act 1989, and this needs to be resolved.'


Dealing with the media: 'It is something I haven't done before. So far all the media has been pretty sympathetic. We have found the media has been given more information from the council than we have, so we have the strange situation where they are giving us information, rather than the other way round. The journalists have really sought to get to grips with the issues and have been to see clients affected by the policy.'