Lawyers working at immigration firms have told The Lawyer that there is “an element of trepidation” among their teams, as concerns grow over potential attacks by far-right groups.
Nearly 40 immigration centres and law firms were listed on a Telegram channel called Southport Wake Up on Monday, which has more than 12,000 members.
The list, as reported in The Times, was published in alphabetical order by town and included firm addresses that encouraged protestors to attack offices.
A senior lawyer at one of the firms included in the list told The Lawyer that there are fears that an attack could take the form of a firebombing. As a result, the firm is ensuring that all of its data is backed up as a result.
“[We have received] a series of Whatsapp messages, from colleagues, court service users, even clients,” the lawyer said.
“On top of that we have had random callers telling us [about the threats]. It is very kind of people to give us the heads up.”
The firm has since been in touch with the police, local political representatives and The Law Society. It is understood that The Law Society has been coordinating with the Home Office on the threats.
It has also taken the decision for staff to work remotely for at least the next week due to safety concern for staff and clients.
The lawyer, who wished to remain anonymous and did not want his practice to be named, said that that while it was tempting to proceed with a “gung ho attitude” and refuse to be threatened, there was “an element of trepidation” among the team.
He said the firm has been trying to reassure clients but, while they have been understanding, many are vulnerable, do not speak English, do not have access to email, or are dealing with time sensitive applications.
“People do not understand the nature of the work that we do,” he said. “These are lawyers dealing with the most vulnerable people to our society.”
“Many of our clients are sleeping on somebody’s couch. We do a huge amount of pro bono work for domestic violence victims. There are multiple human stories that we are talking about.”
He pointed out that the vast majority of those firms targeted are small, family run, high-street businesses, already operating in a struggling sector, and not multi-office international firms.
Arguing that the threats have been a long time coming with anti-immigration lawyer rhetoric feeding into the situation, the lawyer believes that the pressure faced by immigration lawyers is now part of the landscape.
“Those flames have been fanned,” he said.
Concern has spread following multiple riots and clashes with police over the weekend, in which two migrant hotels were set on fire. Unrest intensified across several locations over the past week, after the murder of three children in Southport last month.
In a statement yesterday, Law Society president Nick Emmerson said it was seriously concerned about the safety and wellbeing of its members.
“I have written to the Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor and Home Secretary today asking that the threats against the legal profession are treated with the utmost seriousness,” said Emmerson.
“A direct assault on our legal profession is a direct assault on our democratic values and we are supporting our members who are being targeted.”
