Remove him now, says MP

Despite being jailed for five years in August 2004 after admitting 36 counts of theft and asking for another 11 to be taken into consideration, former Darwen solicitor Philip Pressler is in a position where he could advise on wills, powers of attorney and other legal issues to clients who know nothing of his background. Shamed Pressler, 53, formerly of Higher Whittlestone Farm, Darwen, leaves Kirkham Prison, near Preston, every Monday and Wednesday on day release to work as an adviser at Manchester District Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), in Swan Street.

He catches the train from Kirkham to Manchester and works from 9.30am until 4pm before returning to prison in the early evening.

Although he swindled £759,000 from clients, wills and charities while a senior partner at Darwen solicitors Hindle, Son and Cooper, prison chiefs denied claims allowing him to work as an advisor during his rehabilitation was "inappropriate".

CAB bosses also denied that having a convicted fraudster giving advice on their behalf was a cause for concern.

But Darwen and Rossendale MP Janet Anderson said she was outraged Pressler was working at the CAB and would write to the minister for prisons to ask for him to be removed.

She said: "People in Darwen will quite rightly be very annoyed and upset about this.

"The very notion that a convicted swindler has been placed in a position where he has access to vulnerable people seeking advice is an absolute nonsense.

"I will be taking this up with the prisons minister Tony McNulty as a matter of urgency and ask him to make sure that he is removed from having contact with the public as soon as possible."

Det Sgt Graham Norris, from Lancashire Police's major crime unit, who led the investigation which led to Pressler's conviction said he was "highly concerned" Pressler could now be advising people on the same legal processes he used to defraud families across East Lancashire.

However, a spokesperson for the CAB said employing Pressler as an adviser did not undermine the work that they did or the quality of advice they provided.

A CAB spokesperson said: "The prime concern of any CAB is always to safeguard the welfare and interests of CAB clients. Philip Pressler has had to go through stringent vetting and risk assessment by the Prison Service as well as the bureau's own rigorous selection procedures before being considered for training as a volunteer adviser by Manchester District Citizens Advice Bureau.

"He has been subject to close supervision and monitoring throughout his time as an adviser and would have faced severe sanctions had he breached CAB rules or broken prison authority rules governing his conduct.

"There has never been any question of his handling bureau funds or having access to clients' money."

CAB advisers are trained volunteers whose expenses are paid for by the organisation. Their literature says advisers can: interview clients; help clients negotiate with people such as creditors; draft letters; make phone calls for clients; and represent them in court and at tribunals.

A Prison Service spokesperson said Pressler was released on temporary licence as a way "to provide increased opportunities to undertake training and educational programmes that cannot be provided within the prison."

She said: "Unpaid community work and reparative projects help prisoners give something back to the community. All prisoners are rigorously risk assessed before release on temporary licence and no prisoners are released if there are concerns for public safety or it is felt it is inappropriate to do so."

The Law Society, which regulates the industry, has paid more than half a million pounds to Pressler's victims from a compensation fund.

He was ordered to sell £690,000 of his assets to repay the Law Society or face a further three years in prison and was struck off as a solicitor by them in May, 2003.

A Law Society spokesperson said: "Unless another solicitor had applied to the Law Society for Mr Pressler to work under his supervision we would not be involved as the CAB can employ him without making us aware."

Det Sgt Graham Norris said: "Pressler committed some diabolical crimes and affected people and families in a big way.

"He systematically gained and then abused their trust and ripped lots and lots of people off.

"He has been proven to be a dishonest man. How can anyone prove he is not being dishonest now and does not have ulterior motives?

"Pressler is a conman and it did shock me when I was told that as part of his rehabilitation he is working at the CAB.

"I have raised my concerns with prison liaison officers at Kirkham about the suitability of him as a CAB adviser. But I have been assured that he is monitored closely and is supervised at all times.

"How would you feel if you had received advice from him and then found out who he was, what he had done and the fact he is still serving a prison sentence for fraud?

"Would members of the public want any advice, legal or otherwise, from a convicted conman?"

Former Darwen Grammar School pupil Dr Sandi Hoyland prompted the investigation into Pressler.

Pressler administered the estate of her father, John Hacking, and had right of attorney over it as his mental health had begun to fail.

Dr Hoyland told the Telegraph at the time: "Probate and power of attorney are probably the only two areas where solicitors can work in total isolation and Pressler exploited that, stealing all that money for his own lavish lifestyle.

"There needs to be tougher penalties for solicitors who abuse their position and a better way for people to make complaints to stop them from doing it to others."