Solicitor's ex-colleagues praise his legal abilities

FORMER staff who worked for a Plymouth solicitor, accused of multiple sexual assaults upon some of his clients, have praised his legal acumen and skill.

- By CARL EVE

Alan Harris, 72, from Thorn Park in Plymouth, faces 30 charges - which include rape and sexual assault - at his trial, which is taking place at Winchester Crown Court, Hampshire. He denies all the charges.

Appearing as a witness, Margaret Tullock, a retired legal secretary, told the court she had worked for Alan Harris at his firm since around 1995.

In answer to questions from prosecutor Anne Whyte KC she explained she first met Harris in around 1986 when he was working for Bond Pearce solicitors in Plymouth.

She then joined him when he branched out and set up his own firm in an office in Queen Anne Terrace, North Hill. She said the firm initially did both family work as well as criminal work, but later focused solely on criminal defence.

She said Harris would see some of his clients at their home, or take them across the road to the ‘Rose Garden’ by Drake’s Place reservoir.

She said he would not give the reason why he did this, and she never asked him. She also confirmed that he had his own private office at his firm, allowing him to speak with clients in privacy.

Asked if there was anything which clients who were visited at home or spoken to at the Rose Garden had in common, Ms Tullock said they were “all criminals” before adding that they were “predominantly male”.

Margaret Cross, another former employee of Alan Harris Solicitors, gave evidence. She confirmed she retired in 2024 and had worked as a legal clerk in the office.

She said that when Harris left Bond Pearce - where she was working as his secretary - to set up his own business in October 1986, she went with him, initially working from a small room in a three-storey building at Queen Anne Terrace.