England: Barrister who dodged £23,000 worth of rail fares disbarred

Peter Barnett was convicted of six counts of fraud after he routinely dodged fares between his home in Oxfordshire and London.

Mr Barnett, who was called to Lincoln’s Inn in 2007 and owns a £600,000 house was convicted of sustained evasion of rail fares in and out of Marylebone station between April 2012 and November 2014.

He was handed a 16-week prison term, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to carry out 200 hours’ unpaid work.

A Bar Standards Board spokesperson said: “Dishonest conduct is incompatible with membership of the Bar. The tribunal’s decision to disbar Dr Barnett reflects this.”

He is also a qualified solicitor south of the border as well as in New South Wales in Australia.

A Solicitors Regulation Authority spokesman said Mr Barnett removed himself from the roll seven years ago and that, as such, it had no authority over him. He added that if Mr Barnett applied to be readmitted, the body would “assess all relevant information”.