A WELL-KNOWN former lawyer in Blackburn has failed with eight legal challenges to his conviction for perverting the course of justice over his dealings with drug dealers.

Basharat Ditta has been told, though, that another appeal ground, based on legally protected conversations he had with clients, can still be explored, Criminal Appeal Court judges have ruled.

Ditta, formerly a partner at Forbes Solicitors, was jailed for three years in November 2013 at Preston Crown Court after he was caught up in drugs conspiracy charges surrounding three men, Neil Scarborough, Suhail Vohra and Tahier Chand.

The solicitor, who confessed he had a cocaine problem, was said to have passed messages between the suspects in a bid to frustrate police investigations. Scarborough was his regular supplier.

Ditta has made more than one attempt to get his convictions overturned and was represented by Simon Csoka QC when Judge Vivian Ramsey refused a previous application.

Now, the lawyer has taken on a fresh legal team, under Jeremy Dein QC, which lodged nine grounds of appeal.

Mr Dein argued that the trial judge should not have allowed reference to Ditta’s cocaine use, his co-defendants previous convictions should not have been admitted, as well as references to others involved in Operation Oak – the police operation into drug supply.

The court heard claims about Ditta’s "propensity for untruthfulness" should also not have been allowed, that the prosecution failed to present sufficient evidence to back up the perjury charges, the trial judge’s summing up was "unsafe" and vital evidence remained undisclosed.

Sir Brian Leveson, president of the Queen’s Bench Division, sitting with Mrs Justice Patterson and Mrs Justice Whipple, dismissed the majority of the grounds, describing claims Ditta had been subjected to "trial by ambush" as "fanciful".

Sir Brian, with reference to the legal privilege argument, added: “We were unable to determine whether leave should be granted on this ground without first hearing from the applicant himself, and from his trial legal team.”

This would include trial judge Mr Justice Holroyde and his original defence counsel, Peter Wright QC, giving evidence. Ditta was struck off the solicitors’ roll in January 2015.