A law firm boss who used his client account to counter his outfit's financial difficulties has been struck off by a legal watchdog.

Dominic MacKnight headed up Blackburn-based personal injuries specialist Lawson Taylor Solicitors when he got into trouble.

An investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) found he had made 10 transfers, totalling more than £16,000, from the firm's client account to the separate office account for Lawson Taylor.

And when he was quizzed by an SRA invesitgator, he said: "I knew at the time when I transferred the money it did not belong to the firm. I’ve been winging and praying it – I can see that I am a risk to the profession."

Montu Miah, representing the SRA at a Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal fitness to practise hearing, said MacKnight had been seeking to keep the firm's debit balance in the office account to under £30,000 at the time of the transactions.

The hearing was told MacKnight, who was first admitted to the roll in April 2016, had become a director of the firm, which operated out of an office at the Daisyfield Business Centre, in 2021 following the resignation of a previous director and shareholder.

The SRA formally intervened in Lawson Taylor's affairs in December 2022 after receiving two complaints about the firm's conduct during the previous July and August.

Mr Miah said the SRA investigation showed MacKnight had, between dates in November 2021 and September 2022, authorised transfers totalling £54,523 from the firm's client to office account.

But while he had accounted for £38,215 of the transfers, there was still a balance of £16,308 outstanding, which created a cash shortage. He had not returned that sum to the client account.

Mr Miah said MacKnight had also sought to hamper the SRA's financial investigation by a number of dishonest means.

He told the hearing the solicitor had given several misleading or inaccurate statements to the financial investigator.

MacKnight had also said he had no judgement debts recorded against him when the firm in fact had five against its name.

He also falsely claimed a bookkeeper had come in to reconcile the accounts when the books had not been checked since he took over the firm and the accounts were reconciled monthly.

MacKnight, who admitted to all offences, including claims of dishonesty and a failure to uphold public trust in the profession, also failed to provide passwords to his accounting software so the books could be checked by the SRA investigator.

SDT panel chairman Mr L Boyce said: "The tribunal determined that in light of the respondent’s high level of culpability, serious harm caused by the respondent’s misconduct and admitted dishonesty, the only appropriate and proportionate sanction was to strike the respondent, Mr MacKnight off the Roll of Solicitors."

An application for SRA costs, in the sum of £9,330 was dismissed by the panel though because of MacKnight's insufficient means.