In brief: Solicitor struck off for stealing £500,000

A crooked solicitor who committed "the worst kind of systematic abuse of clients" by stealing nearly #500,000 of their money has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. For five years Richard Martin, of Webster Butcher & Johnson of Balham in London, transferred huge amounts of client cash to office accounts. The Solicitors Compensation Fund has already had to pay out #360,000, with claims totalling over #200,000 still pending.