Lord Pannick: Meet the lawyer representing Boris Johnson and Manchester City

How often does a subordinate of the House of Lords get cheered from the shot terraces?

Not often, is the answer. But that is what happened this play erstwhile Manchester City fans unfurled a banner reading: "Pannick connected the Streets of London".

That play connected a Smiths opus rubric was a notation to Lord David Pannick, the overmuch sought-after lawyer present representing the nine successful its combat against the Premier League.

Their conflict is conscionable the latest successful a drawstring of high-profile cases taken connected by the lawyer.

Over the people of his vocation helium has represented clients including Topshop proprietor Sir Philip Green; Shamima Begum, the teen who ran distant to articulation Islamic State; and erstwhile Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

He caught the ineligible bug astatine a young age. He debated astatine schoolhouse and astatine 16 years aged often attended the Old Bailey to ticker cases.

After attending Hertford College, Oxford University, helium went into the law, wherever 1 of his archetypal cases was representing a antheral successful Hong Kong facing the decease penalty.

"That's not a bully mode to commencement your signifier - you tin lone get amended aft a commencement similar that. I archer that to clients - immoderate are reassured, immoderate are not."

Despite the hard beginning, helium has gone connected to person a agelong and varied career.

In the 1990s helium represented cheery servicemen and women who had been dismissed from the service due to the fact that of their sexuality.

He besides defended BBC director-general Mark Thompson against a Christian radical trying to prosecute him for screening Jerry Springer the Opera successful 2005.

His different clients person included erstwhile Topshop proprietor Philip Green and Shamima Begum, the teen who ran distant to articulation Islamic State.

One of his astir high-profile cases came successful 2019, erstwhile Boris Johnson attempted to interruption the Brexit deadlock by closing down Parliament.

For 4 days, Westminster was gripped arsenic lawyers argued their lawsuit successful beforehand of the Supreme Court.

"Pannick exudes a consciousness of calm and has the uncanny quality to marque you deliberation you recognize ineligible double-speak adjacent erstwhile you don't.

"A Pannick onslaught is simply a happening of zen-like beauty.... In his hands, a ineligible submission is much a cosy bedside communicative than adversarial confrontation."

Clive Coleman - past ineligible analogous for the BBC, present a elder spouse astatine Maltin PR - watched the lawsuit and pinpoints Lord Pannick's occurrence connected his quality to simplify an argument.

He summarises the lawyer's attack similar this: "Never beryllium acrophobic of stating the obvious, ne'er beryllium acrophobic of stating the evident clip and clip again, ne'er beryllium acrophobic of stating the evident clip and clip again adjacent to the astir superb judges."

Coleman likens Lord Pannick's benignant successful tribunal to idiosyncratic explaining thing down the pub.

"Everyone, I don't attraction however superb a justice they are, everyone wants clarity."

Lord Pannick has present moved from being Boris Johnson's hostile successful tribunal to his advocate.

MPs are investigating if the erstwhile premier curate misled Parliament implicit parties during the coronavirus lockdown.

Lord Pannick had been hired by the authorities to analyse the committee's approach.

In September, helium wrote ineligible proposal successful which helium argued that the committee's attack was "fundamentally flawed" and would person a "seriously chilling effect connected MPs".

The committee has rejected his arguments and accused the adjacent of a "systematic misunderstanding of the parliamentary process".

Reaction to him taking connected the lawsuit has been, inevitably, divided,

"Those who deliberation that Boris Johnson is simply a martyr and should ne'er person been removed, deliberation I americium a hero; those who are opposed to Boris Johnson deliberation I'm a disgrace," helium told Sally Penni.

"I person had a fig of emails saying I should resign - I'm not definite from what.

"I counsel people, I correspond them, it doesn't substance if they are Boris Johnson oregon an asylum seeker, they get my view."

In 2008, Lord Pannick joined the House of Lords, arsenic an autarkic - oregon crossbench - peer.

'It's the lone spot wherever I americium inactive known arsenic Young Pannick," helium told Anthony Inglese in Counsel Magazine.

"I felt humbled by the thought that my grandparents who near Poland and Russia would beryllium astonished that their grandson would beryllium honoured successful this way."

In 2022, his activities successful the House of Lords came nether fire, when ministers privately suggested changes helium helped marque to the instrumentality successful 2018 contributed to the hold successful sanctioning allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Lord Pannick said helium could not spot however his amendments "impeded due authorities action" and suggested that ministers had not "given capable resources" to those who were liable for identifying sanctions targets.

He besides defended acting for Arkady Rotenberg, a adjacent subordinate of Mr Putin, successful 2014-15, saying the disapproval stemmed from "a basal misunderstanding present of the relation of a barrister".

"I counsel radical connected the law, and reason their cases successful court, whoever they are, and whether oregon not I hold with them, oregon find them objectionable."

Expanding connected the constituent in a missive to The Times helium said: "Justifiable outrage astatine the behaviour of Putin, and those who enactment him, should not beryllium allowed to dilute this captious constituent of a escaped society, nevertheless inconvenient oregon unpopular it whitethorn sometimes be."

Mr Rotenberg has been sanctioned by the UK, EU and the US.

So what does motivate Lord Pannick to judge a client?

"I'm definite determination is an constituent of liking the limelight," says Clive Coleman.

"I deliberation the operation of the intelligence challenge, and the excitement, the buzz."

That whitethorn assistance explicate wherefore the Arsenal instrumentality has chosen to correspond Manchester City.

The Premier League charged the nine with much than 100 breaches of its fiscal rules and referred it to an autarkic commission.

City person said they are "surprised" by the charges, but argued their lawsuit is backed up by a "body of irrefutable evidence".

The stakes are precocious for Manchester City fans, who could look relegation if the nine is recovered to person breached the rules - which is wherefore crowds astatine the Etihad were seen celebrating their club's latest (legal) prima signing connected Sunday.

So what awaits Lord Pannick astatine the extremity of the case? Will it beryllium chants of "There's lone 1 Lord Pannick" oregon "You're not acceptable to deterioration the silk?"