One of the country's leading human-rights lawyers faces a criminal inquiry into claims Iraqi civilians ​were bribed ​to bring abuse claims against British soldiers, The Telegraph can reveal.

Phil Shiner is accused by legal regulators of ​knowing about the bribes which were allegedly disguised as expenses and then submitted as legal aid claims funded by the taxpayer.

​Mr Shiner's law firm has brought more than 1,000 allegations against British soldiers, some of whom have been pursued through the courts and had their lives ruined.

It can now be disclosed that National Crime Agency (NCA) will be passed a file in the coming days, outlining a series of allegations being made against Mr Shiner, who made his career suing the Ministry of Defence in the wake of the Iraq war.