Accused lawyer cleared

A SOLICITOR accused of giving a false alibi in a Sheffield murder case has been cleared by a jury.

By The Newsroom

Published 23rd Aug 2007, 11:44 BST

Updated 24th Aug 2007, 08:35 BST

Alistair Duncan Smith - known as Duncan Smith - was found not guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice by giving a false alibi for Mohammed Ali, who shot dead Ibrahim Ilyas in a drugs dispute in June last year.

Smith, aged 44, of Troutbeck Road, Mill-houses, Sheffield, told police he had seen Ali in a Doncaster restaurant at the time of the shooting.

A partner in Conisbrough law firm Evans Smith, he later said he must have been mistaken about dates and events.

Ali, aged 24, was found guilty in January of murdering 20-year-old Mr Ilyas and attempting to murder two other men in the shooting on Osgathorpe Road, Fir Vale.

He was ordered to serve a minimum of 30 years after being convicted at Sheffield Crown Court.