Protesting solicitor gave a briefing

Aug 17 2006 By The Journal

A solicitor could face action after dropping his trousers in a court corridor in protest against new security measures.

Willie Johnstone gave a whole new meaning to the word briefs when he stood with his suit trousers around his ankles and invited security staff to search him after being told to pass through the court's electronic scanning system.

Mr Johnstone was one of a dozen defence solicitors protesting against new security measures introduced last week at Sunderland Magistrates Court when he dropped his trousers in front of bemused security staff. Under new regulations everyone must be scanned and searched before they enter any courtroom through the main front door.

Defence solicitors claim the measures discriminate against them because they do not apply to prosecutors, magistrates or court staff, who get into the building through a back door.

Mr Johnstone, who works for Harding, Swinburne, Jackson & Co in the city, is currently on holiday in Thailand and not answering his mobile phone.

But a colleague at his firm said the incident was being blown out of proportion.

A spokesman for Her Majesty's Court Service, however, said they viewed the incident very seriously.

He said: "We have a duty of care to all court users and any people entering the court building via the public entrance must be searched.

"The policy applies to everyone, including solicitors.

"We are taking this incident very seriously and we are considering what action to take."

A spokesman for the Law Society said they had not received any formal complaints about Mr Johnstone's behaviour.