Effing and blinding
A barrister has been reprimanded by a bar disciplinary tribunal after making inappropriate comments to probation staff in a case where he had been instructed by the Probation Service.
The tribunal upheld three charges against Timothy Mark Compton, who was called to the bar in 1984 but is not currently practising. The decision remains open to appeal, with the full reasoning yet to be published.
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) said that Compton acted in a manner “likely to diminish the trust and confidence which the public places in him or in the profession” after making remarks to ‘Person A’, a female member of probation staff, including “but darling, you are so decorative” and/or “you are looking at me like I am a fucking dirty pig”.
The tribunal also found that Compton made further comments to probation staff in a conference room while preparing for a magistrates’ court hearing. This included: “You work for probation; you should always have your fucking statement. What are you thinking, not bringing it with you? It’s fucking simple,” and “You need to have access to your fucking laptops and fucking contact logs.”
The panel concluded that Compton had diminished public trust in both himself and the profession, and had failed to provide a competent standard of work and service to his client.
He was reprimanded and ordered to pay the BSB’s costs of £2,841. The decision is open to appeal.
