KUALA LUMPUR – A Queen’s Counsel (QC) from the United Kingdom, Jonathan Laidlaw, who is seeking to act for Datuk Seri Najib Razak in the former prime minister’s appeal in the RM42 million SRC International Sdn Bhd corruption case, has the special qualification and experience of a nature not available among advocates and solicitors in Malaysia, according to Najib’s legal team.
Najib’s lead counsel Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, in an affidavit to support a bid for Laidlaw to represent the appellant in his final appeal at the Federal Court in August, said the QC had qualifications and experience in a whole range of corruption cases both in the UK and in overseas jurisdictions.
Laidlaw has appeared in 109 reported cases in the Divisional Court, Court of Appeal, and House of Lords, now the Supreme Court.
“By way of example only, he represented two members of the House of Lords and a member of the House of Commons who were embroiled in the era-defining ‘cash for honours’ scandal which involved an alleged link between loans to UK political parties and the granting of life peerages (following representations, none faced charges and therefore cannot be identified).
“He prosecuted the largest ever investigation into corruption in the Metropolitan Police Service, which led to the conviction of two Flying Squad officers (Garner and McGuinness) who then turned queen’s evidence against a number of former colleagues.
“He prosecuted a Crown Prosecution Service lawyer for corruption, following an undercover sting operation that revealed the individual to have been prepared to compromise prosecutions in favour of career criminals, and has recently advised an individual seeking to bring a private prosecution against members of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs,” said Shafee, adding that Laidlaw had been listed by the Sunday Times as one of Britain’s 500 most influential individuals. – Bernama, June 1, 2022
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