Fare dodging barrister who avoided paying £6,000 in train tickets is disbarred
A BARRISTER dubbed “the Artful Dodger” after avoiding £6,000 in train fares has been booted out of his profession.
Dr Peter Barnett, 45 avoided paying £6,000 in train fares
Oxford graduate Dr Peter Barnett, 45, commuted daily from his £600,000 home in Thame, Oxfordshire.
He boarded at sleepy Haddenham & Thame Parkway station in Buckinghamshire without a ticket.
He was initially accused of cheating Chiltern Railways out of more than £23,000
At Marylebone, after the 50-mile journey, he “tapped” his Oyster card and exited.
When the Australian-born lawyer was challenged in 2014 he said he had boarded in north-west London.
He was accused of cheating Chiltern Railways out of more than £23,000 which would have made him the biggest fare dodger.
Dr Barnett was spared jail after his lawyer Angus Bunyan said the actual loss was £5,892.70
He admitted fraud between April 2012 and November 2014 at City of London magistrates court last year.
Dr Barnett, who worked for a think-tank, was spared jail after his lawyer Angus Bunyan said the actual loss was £5,892.70.
After the conviction, his dismissal by the Bar Standards Board this week became inevitable
Cheating train fare dodger gets comeuppance
Judge Ola Omotosho ordered him to pay it back, work 200 hours unpaid and gave him a four-month suspended prison sentence.
After the conviction, his dismissal by the Bar Standards Board this week became inevitable.