Aformer coroner has been struck off the roll of solicitors after playing down to his bosses the extent of criminal allegations against him. Chinyere Inyama, who formerly sat in West London, told the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal that he had been ‘embarrassed’ to tell the Chief Coroner’s Office over the phone that he had been questioned by the police over allegations of sexual assault and rape.
Instead, when he phoned two days after his police interview, he described the allegations being made against him as ‘touching up’. The Solicitors Regulation Authority, prosecuting, said Inyama had ‘chosen to underplay’ the seriousness of the allegations and in doing so acted dishonestly.
The criminal allegations against Inyama were not pursued and he has never been charged with any sexual offence.
The tribunal found Inyama ‘did not provide a full and frank account’ of the nature of the investigation he was facing and so misled the chief coroner. It was found he knew he was under a duty to report the allegations and by failing to do so he acted dishonestly and without integrity.
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