by Richard Craig
23 August 2010
A lawyer from Lanarkshire is being investigated by the Law Society after several clients of his have complained they have not received money they won through compensation claims.
Paul McConville is accused of delaying payments from a £2m fund set up to compensate miners for industrial diseases they developed during the course of their employment.
He denies that he has ever "purloined" miners' cash, saying that was a 'no-no' for a lawyer. He was declared bankrupt after failing to pay his debts after former miners and their families complained to both the Law Society and their MPs about his conduct, saying he was 'never available' when they were attempting to contact him. Several of them are still waiting to receive their payouts despite being awarded compensation by the Miners' Liability Unit some time ago.