THE political row surrounding South Swindon MP Robert Buckland rumbled on yesterday as a senior member of the Labour Party called for him to stand down.

It emerged over the weekend that Mr Buckland, a former barrister and part-time judge, had been found in breach of the Code of Conduct for the Bar of England and Wales in 2011.

He was a governor at Ridgeway School when pupil Henry Webster was severely assaulted by 13 Asian pupils.

While conducting an internal investigation for the school he asked for witness statements relating to the case of one of the culprits.

Last week, the MP was promoted to Solicitor General in David Cameron’s reshuffle but failed to disclose the breach of conduct.

Mr Buckland has maintained he only asked for the papers to conduct an internal investigation and there was no malicious intent.

Although he was found guilty, there was no fine and he was not prevented from practising.

However, it has led some to question whether Mr Buckland is suitable for the role and yesterday the Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry contacted the head of The Bar Council to make inquiries.

She said: “As you will be aware, it has emerged that Robert Buckland MP, the new Solicitor General, was found guilty by the Bar Council of professional misconduct in 2011.

“The Council of the Inns of Court considered that he had brought the profession into disrepute following his intervention in an inquiry into a racism-fuelled fight at the school at which he was governor.

“It was found that he had improperly accessed the case notes of one of the defendants. In particular the statements of children who had witnessed a horrible violent incident.

“My understanding is that Mr Buckland conducted his own ‘investigation’ into the incident, despite the fact that there was already a criminal investigation, and during the course of this demanded case papers from the defence and then distressed the mother of the victim by approaching her with his ‘findings’.

“The tribunal concluded that Mr Buckland ‘had no entitlement to those papers’ and so had engaged in activity ‘likely to bring the legal profession into disrepute’.

She also raised questions as to whether Mr Buckland’s conviction was spent, the reason given for not raising it with the Prime Minister.

The MP said once two years had passed it was spent but the Bar Standards Board said this was not the case.

A spokesman said: “Any disciplinary finding and sentence currently stays on a barrister’s disciplinary record indefinitely. As outlined on our website, a member of the public can obtain a barrister’s full disciplinary record by contacting our Professional Conduct Department during office hours.

“Findings and sentences are also published on our website for two years unless the finding of the Disciplinary Tribunal involves a suspension or disbarment: in these cases, the finding will be posted on the website indefinitely.”

Mr Buckland has made no comment since the revelations but a statement from the Attorney General’s office said: “It is a matter of public record that in May 2011, Robert Buckland was found to have committed a minor breach of the Code of Conduct of the Bar of England and Wales.

“He was not suspended or fined and continued to practice and sit as a Recorder.

“This finding was removed from the Bar records after two years and therefore Mr Buckland was not required to declare it upon appointment as Solicitor General.”

Yesterday, fellow Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson yesterday came out in support of his colleague and criticised the political attacks.

He said: “Robert has my absolute full support.

“He is an extremely hard working and dedicated MP and will be fantastic in the role as Solicitor General drawing on his wealth of experience.

“Labour’s personal, nasty and vindictive attacks smack of desperation and political posturing.”