Scotland Yard is investigating a disgraced London barrister turned pro-Putin commentator for allegedly forging a letter from the first female head of the Supreme Court.

Alexander Mercouris is said to have forged the signature of Baroness Hale, the President of the Supreme Court, on a bogus document as part of his attempts to fool a former client.

Lorna Jamous accused Mr Mercouris of fraud following “appalling” behaviour towards her in a case which led to him being disbarred.

The 56-year-old was struck off by the Bar Standards Board (BRB) in 2012 after making a series of bizarre claims about the then Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.

Lorna Jamous says Mr Mercouris caused her psychological and financial damage after lying to her in an action she brought against Westminster Council when her son was taken into care for a year.

In October 2009 Mrs Jamous was offered a £5,000 settlement by the council over the treatment received by the then 10-year-old.

However, she says Mr Mercouris persuaded her to turn down the offer, claiming he had managed to get the settlement increased to £983,000.

When Mrs Jamous began questioning Mr Mercouris as to why the money had not materialised he embarked on what the Bar Standards Board (BSB) later described as a series of “bizarre assertions to hide the truth”.

To convince Mrs Jamous he had obtained the huge settlement he showed her a letter purporting to be from Baroness Hale, expressing concern that the payment had not arrived.

The letter turned out to be a forgery.

He then made what the BSB described as “the most peculiar allegation” of all, that bogus police officers kidnapped him and took him to a meeting with Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers, the then Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.

Mr Mercouris claimed Lord Phillips had pleaded with him to drop the case in exchange for a £50,000 bribe and that he had threatened to have his 102-year-old grandmother put into a care home.

At a BRB hearing in March 2012 Mr Mercouris, a former Citizens Advice Bureau worker who was called to the bar in 2006, was struck off and banned from practicing law.

In mitigation he said he had had been diagnosed with depression after a nervous breakdown due to the strain of caring for his sick grandmother, and that he was “very sorry” for what he had done.

Mrs Jamous, 53, a beautician, never received any payment from Westminster council as a result of Mr Mercouris’s botched handling of her case.

Within a few years, however, he had managed to reinvent himself and become a commentator on world affairs for Russian TV news outlets and websites.

This led to him being regularly interviewed by the news channel RT, which is funded by the Russian government, about topics such as the Ukraine crisis, the defection of US whistleblower Edward Snowden and the conflict in Syria.

He is also Editor-in-Chief of an English language pro-Russian website The Duran.

But Mr Mercouris’ past is now threatening to catch up with him. Following a complaint from Mrs Jamous the Metropolitan Police has decided to investigate allegations of fraud and misconduct in a public office against him.

An officer from the Met’s Professional Standards Unit contacted Mrs Jamous last week, stating: “I can confirm that we are re-investigating your allegation of Fraud against Mr Mercouris. Once all of the actions have been completed the case will be reviewed and I hope will then be referred to the CPS for their consideration.”

Ms Jamous,  who is also suing Mr Mercouris for £200,000 over his handling of her case, said: “I am very pleased that the Met finally appear to be taking the matter seriously. In order that me and my son can move forward with our lives we needed this assurance.”

Mr Mercouris said: “I’m told the investigation is in its early stages and I'm told by the police I will not be interviewed or required to give evidence. I absolutely deny any allegations. Ms Jamous knows that at the time I had mental health problems. It happened when I was severely ill and not in my right mind.”

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