Immigration law firm making £1.7m in legal aid loses contract over standards | Immigration and asylum

Although Guardian signed thousands of asylum seekers and employed only five lawyers last year, although only five lawyers employed, an immigrant law firm that had gained legal aid last year ended after concerns about the performance of the government contract.

The decision leaves many asylum seekers struggling to find new legal representatives at a time when the government increases the number of cases rejected.

In the year that ended in June 2025, the first shelter grants fell from 58% to 48% and more people had to apply for appeals, which is difficult to do without a legal representative.

Middlesex Chambers of Law increased from £ 43,000 to £ 1.7 million in 2025 in 2021 in 2021. Firm listed On the website of the lawyers editing authority, as 15 offices across the country, many of them are in the deserts of judicial aid such as Peterborough, Plymouth and Crawley.

When Guardian called these offices, there was no answer or receptionist for the office block that the company rented an area.

Middlesex Chambers of Law, Penal Defense Attorney Sheraz Chowdhry, the company plans to expand to these areas, but in most cases did not do so and now terminated rental arrangements for these office areas, he said.

There is a lawyer who is currently doing special immigration in Southall office, a lawyer of a lawyer in an office in Canary Wharf in Eastern London, and a small team of penalties in the Uxbridge office. Forensic aid agreements are continuing for these fields of work.

Chowdhry joined the company only months before last year after the previous lawyer responsible for immigration work, Hina Choudhery died of cancer complications.

He said: “The company, which has been blocked by Hina’s bad health for the last two years, found it difficult to maintain its very high standards in the immigration department.”

Authority added that he had learned the termination of the judicial aid agreement for immigration activities only weeks ago. “The decision was sent to us only on August 20, 2025 via e -mail.”

When he explained why the company was expanded in such a dramatic way and how it was possible to provide sufficient legal representation for thousands of asylum seekers who are only five immigration lawyers, and how it was possible to explain any of the 15 young and more senior case workers.

A typical case load for a legally assisted asylum seeker or case employee is 15-20. With the number of personnel employed by the company during the rapid expansion, each lawyer and case worker had approximately 164 cases.

The migrants who are members of the migrants who complain about the service provided by the company organize Frances Timberlake: “It is the duty of the Ministry of Justice to ensure that the Ministry of Justice is present for those in need.

“Good legal advice and the government urgently need financing to stop pushing into hostile, expensive legal processes like a charade for reform of immigrants,” he said.

Dr Jo Wilding, a researcher and senior lecturer at the University of Sussex and immigration lawyer, said: ‘This could be completely predicted when he established offices in many new areas, including six serious advice desert areas and started to receive hundreds of lawsuits.

“It should be clear that vulnerable people were exploited, but the judicial assistance agency did not determine or accept that it was a problem. The solution of this is to stop acting as if it were a market to the most vulnerable people and to pay this money to a respected expert company or to do its job.”

Rami, a former customer of Middlesex Legal Chambers, said, “It is good for the government to enter and close this company. But it makes you feel too late, because many people like me have already suffered in any advice because of the work of this company. Gray, I had to keep my hand before I lost a lot of time because I lost a lot of time.

“People looking for asylum are facing too many problems and a lawyer can help us to go through bad situations. But it is very difficult to find a judicial assistance lawyer and many people do not speak English, so they cannot know which one is a good law and which one is not.”

A Forensic Aid Agency spokesperson said: “Middlesex Chambers of Law has ended the Legal Aid Agreement.

“Firms that regulate judicial aid contracts are subject to annual investigations.