Former SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh guilty of professional misconduct

A former Nationalist MP has been fined £3,000 after being found guilty of professional misconduct while she was a partner at a law firm.

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, Alex Salmond’s broadcasting partner, admitted failings at a disciplinary tribunal.

She faced a Law Society inquiry with Alan Mickel, her ex-colleague at the now defunct firm Hamilton Burns, amid concerns over money taken out of a trust that was set up in 2012 on behalf of his sister.

The hearing was told he believed it was a “private family matter”, but in legal terms should have been considered as a client of the firm. Loans made to the struggling law firm from the trust were said to constitute a conflict of interest.

The Law Society said Ms Ahmed-Sheikh and Mr Mickel showed "disregard for the rules" when they failed to keep proper accounts of the trust and when sums were borrowed.

It said their actions constituted a conflict of interest and risked undermining public confidence in the profession.

The Scottish Solicitors' Discipline Tribunal in Perth found both guilty of professional misconduct, fined them each £3,000 and found them liable for the expenses of the Law Society.

However, they avoided being struck off and it was agreed that their belief that the trust was not a client of the firm was "genuine but erroneous”, and that there was no suggestion of dishonesty or personal benefit.

An inspection of the firm raised concerns in October 2015 and Mr Mickel resigned that December.

Ms Ahmed-Sheikh held the title of cash room manager at Hamilton Burns before her resignation in May 2015, when she was elected MP for Ochil and South Perthshire. She lost the seat in the 2017 general election.

She now works with Mr Salmond, the former first minister, on his talk show on the Kremlin-backed RT channel.

She said after the hearing that for nearly two years she had endured “smear and innuendo” and claimed that during the 2017 election campaign a series of leaks suggested she was being “charged with financial impropriety and that funds had been taken from a vulnerable individual”.

She added: ”Now it is admitted on all sides that there was no impropriety whatsoever and the trust has suffered no loss whatsoever. I am pleased that the tribunal has decided to impose the lower penalty of censure rather than striking off.”

John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons, provided a character reference for her, in which he described the married mother-of-four as "passionate, fearless and extremely articulate”, adding: “I have found her to be honest, diligent and trustworthy.”

Dorothy Bain QC, acting for Ms Ahmed-Sheikh, 48, described her career as a practising solicitor from 1996 to 2015 as "unblemished" and said she would like to continue her legal work.

The panel heard 50-year-old Mr Mickel hoped to relocate to England and become a barrister.