Michael Griffiths

Introduction

Michael Griffiths is a British barrister who was disbarred after a Bar Tribunals & Adjudication Service tribunal found that he had engaged in inappropriate conduct toward two junior female colleagues while serving as Head of the Legal Services Department for Gloucestershire Police. The case, reported by RollOnFriday in June 2026, centred on a train journey to a London chambers conference during which Griffiths made sexualised remarks to the two women, and on a pattern of WhatsApp messages sent to one of them that the tribunal judged wholly improper coming from a senior barrister to a junior colleague. Finding all four allegations of professional misconduct proved, the tribunal ordered his disbarment — the most severe sanction the profession’s disciplinary system can impose, expelling him from the Bar.

Background Information

At the time of the events, Griffiths was the Head of the Legal Services Department for Gloucestershire Police, a senior in-house role leading a police force’s legal function while remaining a member of the Bar. RollOnFriday characterised his behaviour on the day in question as “1970s chat”, framing the case as an example of “flirtatious banter” with junior female colleagues that ultimately cost him his career.

The two colleagues were identified in the tribunal proceedings only as Person A and Person B. Griffiths was travelling with them by train to a conference at a chambers in London when the incident at the heart of the case took place.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

On the train journey, Griffiths commented to Person A and Person B that a young woman wearing a short skirt and standing in the aisle would make “a nice addition to the office”. When Person A suggested Griffiths book a hotel room on the company credit card, he replied with words to the effect of: “I can take you there if you like, but I don’t think they do 20-minute sessions”. Person A responded with words to the effect of, “You’d never afford to take me in there anyway”, to which Griffiths replied with words to the effect of, “Oh trust me, if I was taking you in there, I could afford it”.

The Bar Tribunals & Adjudication Service found that the exchange amounted to “inappropriate and/or unwanted direct contact with Person A and Person B” which violated their dignity and humiliated them.

The tribunal also examined Griffiths’ messaging of Person A. It found that he exchanged numerous WhatsApp messages with her which were deemed inappropriate coming from a senior barrister to a junior colleague, that he exchanged an “excessive” additional number of messages with her, and that he provided her with intimate details about his sexual relationship with his wife. With all four allegations of professional misconduct found proved, the tribunal ordered that Griffiths be disbarred.

Public Reaction and Consequences

A spokesperson for the Bar Standards Board said: “We are committed to ensuring that such behaviour is not tolerated at the Bar and take all reports of such conduct seriously”. The spokesperson added: “Mr Griffiths’ actions were a clear example of this type of conduct and incompatible with membership of the Bar, and this is reflected in the decision of the tribunal to disbar Mr Griffiths.”

Reaction among RollOnFriday readers, where the story ran under the pointed opening line “‘U like me?’”, was divided. Some commenters minimised the conduct — one asked “Whatever happened to bantz at work?”, while another called it “ludicrously trivial stuff over which to deny someone his livelihood”. Others pushed back hard: “Ridiculously trivial stuff? Would you like that to have been your daughter routinely harassed by an old delusional git? Me thinks not”, wrote one, and another defended the process on the ground that the disciplinary panel alone had heard the evidence and determined the sanction was deserved.

Current Status

As of the June 2026 reporting, Griffiths stands disbarred and can no longer practise as a barrister. The tribunal’s findings remained subject to appeal at the time of reporting.

Adjudication note: the findings were made by a professional disciplinary tribunal applying the civil standard of proof, not by a criminal court. Disbarment is a professional sanction — it removes a barrister’s right to practise but is not a criminal conviction and does not amount to a criminal record. The tribunal’s findings were subject to appeal at the time of reporting.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The disbarment ends Griffiths’ career at the Bar and strips him of the senior in-house position he held with Gloucestershire Police, where he led the force’s Legal Services Department. A tribunal order of disbarment effectively expels a barrister from the profession, barring them from practice and, in practice, closing the door on the legal career to which decades of senior work had been devoted. The case has also left a public record: RollOnFriday’s coverage of the tribunal’s findings, and the debate it provoked among readers about where “banter” ends and harassment begins, now stands as the defining account of how his career ended.

Sources

• RollOnFriday, “Senior police force lawyer expelled from profession for toxic chat”, 19 June 2026. source