Top lawyer sanctioned over offensive comments about councillor's family

Mark Greenburgh almost derailed a misconduct case against former Sandwell councillor Mahboob Hussain when he made a comment referencing "inbreeding" and a member of his family during a meeting with Sandwell Council's chief executive Jan Britton in October 2015.

At the time Mr Greenburgh was working for Wragge & Co, now Gowling WLG, and was in the process of producing a report into allegations of a series of code of conduct breaches involving Mr Hussain.

This week the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) ruled that the comment was "capable of causing offence". Mr Greenburgh was given a written rebuke and ordered to pay costs of £850 to the SRA.

According to the SRA, a rebuke is a disciplinary sanction that is given when "there has been significant misconduct".

Mr Hussain initially lodged a complaint with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in August 2017.

The watchdog's decision was made in June last year, but was only revealed this week after two separate appeals by Mr Greenburgh, the second of which was withdrawn.

The incident was the subject of a High Court judgement following a judicial review challenge brought by Mr Hussain.

The ruling reports that at the meeting Mr Greenburgh made what was subsequently described by Mr Britton as "a passing quip" about Mr Hussain’s daughter and her children and a reference to "inbreeding".

The comment was described as "inappropriate, offensive and entirely unnecessary" by Mr Britton.

He said it caused him "serious disquiet" and led to him questioning whether it "amounted to bias" and whether it should "lead to the investigation being halted".

Mr Hussain, a former deputy leader of Sandwell Council, argued that the council’s decision to continue with the report despite Mr Greenburgh’s comments amounted to "bias".

But Mr Justice Green rejected his claim.

Last year Mr Hussain was sanctioned by the council over standards breaches relating to the sale of council-owned land and the quashing of parking tickets for family members.

He stepped down as a councillor before last year's local authority elections.

Mr Greenburgh left Gowling WLG in March 2018. He now practises as London-based Greenburgh & Co Ltd, which is described as "a boutique law firm specialising in employment, ethics and equalities".