A Bradford solicitor accused of setting up a "sham" legal partnership has been struck off for "improper and unacceptable behaviour".

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal yesterday found all allegations proved against Aurangzeb Iqbal, 43, as well as two other lawyers.

Iqbal was found to have persuaded Sardar Qadri, 46, and Michael Tracey, 46, to become figureheads to evade rules banning him from running Churchills in Manningham.

Tribunal chairman Alan Ground said: "In reality they were running a sham practice, failing to exercise proper supervision of the solicitors' practice, failing to keep accounts written up and other allegations.

"The conduct of each respondent was serious, improper and unacceptable behaviour from a solicitor or, in the case of Qadri, a registered foreign lawyer. The sanction in the case of Tracey and Iqbal is to strike them off the roll and in the case of Qadri to strike him off the register of foreign lawyers."

Iqbal, of Rawdon Road, Horsforth, and formerly of Pudsey; Qadri, of Ellemere Park, Eccles, Manchester, and Tracey, of Meadows Avenue, Haslingden, Lancashire, were each ordered to pay costs of £7,483. Yesterday Iqbal, 43, accused Qadri of being "on a mission" to cause "maximum damage" to his reputation. He said he was only involved in PR and marketing, not responsible for alleged accounting breaches, VAT evasion and lack of supervision.

The solicitor has taken on a series of high-profile cases and defended some of those allegedly involved in the Bradford riots.

He represented immigrants who claimed their health suffered from working in textiles mills in Yorkshire, Lancashire and the Midlands in the 1960s.

Qadri, a registered foreign lawyer, claimed he was "pressured" into becoming a partner by promises of millions in profits, luxury cars and holiday homes. But Iqbal claimed he was making only £13,000 a year before his daughter was struck down with cancer.

He told the tribunal: "Even prior to the illness of my daughter I was hardly at the office and I was involved in marketing. This practice was not a sham, it wasn't to avoid my conditions. Because of my profile, whatever capacity I practised in at Bradford, people would come to the conclusion I was the main person. In my capacity of PR marketing person I felt it was my remit to bring added value to the practice. Mr Qadri is there to cause maximum damage. He is on a mission."

Iqbal claimed Qadri had gone to the Law Society after being dismissed from the firm.

An investigation in February 2002 allegedly revealed the firm had avoided paying VAT and had a cash shortage of more than £100,000. The tribunal has heard the immigration department at Churchills was in the hands of an unqualified lawyer.

But Iqbal, now based on Great Horton Road, Bradford, said: "I was never a party to the day-to-day running of the accounts. I never sought responsibility. I cannot be held responsible for any breaches."

His employee, Franciszka Jankovic, told the hearing Qadri had fired two staff, not Iqbal. She added: "I very seldom saw him (Iqbal). When his daughter got diagnosed with cancer we hardly saw him."

Tracey has admitted he allowed his name to be used in the partnership and took virtually no part in its supervision.

Iqbal was put under conditions by the Law Society when his original firm was investigated after problems with the Legal Services Commission in 1997. He was banned from working as a solicitor unless in an approved firm and as a member of an approved partnership where he would not be solely responsible for clients' money.

But in October 2000 he set up Churchills in Eldon Place, off Manningham Lane, using Tracey and Qadri as the named partners, the tribunal heard. Qadri, denied he was supervising the business.