Keighley lawyer John Broughton has been accused of money laundering, following a National Crime Squad investigation.

Broughton, in his 50s, who works from an office in Devonshire Street, is one of three men who have been charged with money laundering and conspiracy to pervert the cause of justice.

They will appear before Preston Magistrates Court on Thursday, April 15.

Seven other people have also been charged with offences connected with the investigation.

They include Rosalind Glover, 43, of Aaron House, Dockroyd Lane, Oakworth, who is accused of conspiracy to launder money, and Anthony Radford, 44, of Heather View, Skipton, who faces offences of money laundering and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

They are due to appear before Preston Crown Court in June.

Broughton, who lives in Foulridge, near Colne, was originally arrested in June last year and his office searched by detectives who removed papers and equipment.

The arrests followed Operation Norfolk, a probe into drug trafficking conducted by the National Crime Squad.

Broughton has been a solicitor in Keighley since the early 1970s and is a former pupil of Ermysted's Grammar School, Skipton.

He studied law at the London School of Economics and was trained in Skipton. He set up his own legal firm in the early 1990s.

He is married to his second wife, believed to be a teacher, and has two adult children from his first marriage.

Two other men charged are Basil Dearing, a 60-year-old senior partner at SFN solicitors, in Burnley, Lancashire, and a former Burnley Law Society president, and Noel Tully, a 36-year-old legal representative with Brian Jackson and Co, solicitors, in Liverpool.