TWO senior solicitors at a leading Bradford law firm have been cleared of any wrongdoing after police investigated a complaint that they leaked confidential information on a child sex case.
Police and prosecutors have decided no action will be taken against Alias Yousaf and another, unnamed, solicitor at Chambers Solicitors.
Greater Manchester Police held an investigation after former MP Louise Mensch made a complaint to the force earlier this year, alleging the two solicitors had shared the names and ordeals of victims of a child sex ring.
Both denied any wrongdoing.
Mr Yousaf had represented a defendant in a high profile grooming case heard at Liverpool Crown Court in 2012. His client was convicted and jailed for eight years.
Mrs Mensch alleged that an unredacted case summary had been emailed to a member of the public before the case came to trial.
She asked the force to investigate under the Children and Young Persons' Act and the Data Protection Act, as well as consider Contempt of Court laws.
But a GMP spokesman has now said: "On Monday, 16 March, 2015, Greater Manchester Police received a report relating to an alleged leak of confidential information. The matter was linked to the prosecution of a number of men in a high profile exploitation case in Rochdale in 2011.
"A full investigation was carried out into this matter. Following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, no further action will be taken."
Mr Yousaf sent a libel protocol to Mrs Mensch, a former Conservative MP for Corby, threatening court proceedings, seeking payment of £4,000 in legal fees and proposing compensation, after she posted tweets alleging he had leaked names of child sex abuse victims.
The 'Letter Before Action,' which also asked for the tweets to be removed, stated that Mr Yousaf did not make "unauthorised or deliberate disclosures of any material to any person."
It referred to an email and three-page case summary attachment sent "with the express permission and authority of the defendant," and said the information was sent on the "strict understanding" it would not be shared and used only for research purposes, adding that a senior solicitor was aware.
Mr Yousaf declined to comment on Friday.
But in March he told the T&A: "Not only do we deny any wrongdoing, but we have at all times acted in accordance with our professional obligations - any suggestion to the contrary is nonsense and entirely malicious."
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