Murder solicitor's 'hope' after staying on the roll

The unprecedented decision to allow Sally Clark, the solicitor serving life sentences for the murder of her two baby sons, to remain on the roll has given the former Addleshaw Booth & Co lawyer 'hope for the future', her solicitor said this week.The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) decided to suspend Clark indefinitely after hearing her speak, on a video filmed in prison, of her pride at being a solicitor and her desire to continue practising.

The tribunal also heard her lawyer, John Batt, speak of the 'catalogue of medical errors' that had led to her conviction in 1999 and which he hoped would lead to her release after an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Clark has always protested her innocence, claiming her sons were victims of sudden infant death syndrome.

The Court of Appeal has already turned down one appeal.Mr Batt told the Gazette he was 'very pleased' at the decision, and saw it as a turning point in Clark's fight to clear her name.

'This decision is an indication that people know there is something seriously wrong with the conviction,' he said.Mr Batt added that Clark was 'thrilled' at the decision.

'She told me that the last four years have been a series of hammer blows one after the other,' he said.

'But this is the one decision for a very long time that has given her any hope for the future.'A spokesman for the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors, which brought the case, said the office was 'very surprised' at the verdict.

'This decision demonstrates the independence of the tribunal, and we believe that it is unprecedented for a solicitor convicted of such a serious crime to remain on the roll,' he said.

SDT chairman Anthony Gibson said the suspension was not intended to be punitive, but the profession's reputation had to be protected.

The suspension leaves it open for Clark to practise again if her appeal to the ECHR, scheduled to be heard within the next two years, is successful.See Press round-up, page 10Victoria MacCallum