A SOLICITOR planning to develop a former North Wales hospital site with Prince Charles was fined £10,000 by the Law Society for breaking money rules. Preston-based lawyer Ayub Bhailok and brothers Yousuf and Mushtaq are working with the Prince's Phoenix Trust to redevelop North Wales Hospital, in Denbigh. Details of the Law Society fine are revealed in an anonymous letter which contains a string of allegations against the brothers and which was sent to Denbighshire Council. Copies have been distributed to planning committee members who will decide whether the scheme can go ahead. The letter rightly points out that Ayub was fined in 2001 and was also found guilty of "conduct unbefitting a solicitor". The letter also points out an expose on ITV's World in Action centred on allegations of false claims against insurance companies involving Mushtaq. But the most serious and unfounded allegation is that Ayub's older brother Yousuf, a former secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, has links to Middle Eastern terror groups. Denbighshire council last night said it had passed the letter to the "appropriate authorities" which are understood to include Scotland Yard because of the terrorist references. Ayub last night said he would be asking police to investigate the letter which he described as "containing unfounded allegations". He added: "The suggestion that we as a family are terrorists is laughable." The brothers, through their company Acebench Investments Ltd, bought the 120-acre former hospital site at a London auction two years ago for £310,000 - without having seen it.. Yousuf is the company's managing director, while his brothers are shareholders. Acebench has worked closely on redevelopment plans with Denbigh-shire County Council, the Welsh Development Agency, Cadw, and the Prince of Wales' Phoenix Trust, which was set up to help bring historic buildings back into use. Their plans, which involve a mixture of houses, apartments, offices, workshops, and communal facilities, went on public display yesterday. Yousuf has met prime minister Tony Blair and other government figures and has also shared a conference platform with leaders of terror movements such as Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. But yesterday Ayub, who was outlining the planning application to visitors at a public exhibition in Denbigh Town Hall, rejected the claim Yousuf posed a terrorist threat. He said during Yousuf's two years as leader of the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), he worked hard to promote peace, especially among the UK's Islamic community. He was secretary-general in the aftermath of the World Trade Centre atttack. Dahmina Saleem, spokewoman at the Muslim Council, which represents 400 organisations in this country, said Yousuf was well respected during his term as secretary-general. She added: "It must be borne in mind that in places like the Middle East it is not unusual to share a platform with extremist organisations, some of which, unlike the IRA, have welfare wings." The letter, which was posted in Preston and sent to Denbighshire, refers to Ayub having been fined £10,000 for "breaking Law Society regulations". A spokesman for the Law Society confirmed yesterday that in 2001 Ayub was fined £10,000 by the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal. Ayub and Robert Fielding, who are still partners in the Preston law firm of Bhailok Fielding were found guilty of several breaches of regulations. They included paying money they had received into the office bank account instead of their clients' accounts and failing to supervise employees who were handling accounts. Mr Bhailok was also found guilty of putting improper pressure on complainants to withdraw a complaint in a letter to their solicitors. The partners were both found guilty of "conduct unbefitting a solicitor". Ayub yesterday confirmed he was fined by the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal in 2001, but described the breaches of regulations as "technical". "The rules have now been changed and what we did no longer constitutes a breach," he added.. The expose on ITV's World in Action centred on allegations of false claims against insurance companies by the third brother, Mushtaq. Ayub said yesterday the complaints related to false personal injury insurance claims by firms with which they had dealings, but not to Mushtaq himself. A Denbighshire spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that we have received anonymous letters. We will not comment on their contents except to say that they do not raise any issues which are relevant to the council or to the planning application, and that they have been drawn to the attention of the appropriate authorities for any action that they deem appropriate." Ayub yesterday said he had no idea who was responsible for sending the letters or why it had been done. "It may be down to envy or malice, but the suggestion that we as a family are terrorists is laughable," he said.. He added he was aware that both the council and Phoenix Trust had referred the matter to the police, and he intended to do the same. "It's a matter which has to be dealt with," he added.. Among those shown a copy of the letter was Felicity Elphick, prospective Conservative candidate for the Vale of Clwyd. She said she would be making her own enquiries about the company and added: "I hope the council thoroughly investigates the issues raised in the letter. "A lot of people in the Vale of Clwyd are concerned about what is happening at the North Wales Hospital. It is a very contentious issue and the authorities have to get it right." A spokeswoman for the Phoenix Trust, of which Prince Charles is president, declined to comment. garethhughes@dailypost.co.uk * THE North Wales Hospital, once the town's biggest employer, sparked controversy soon after its doors shut for a final time. Now near derelict, it was built with public donations more than a century ago on 20 acres given by Joseph Ablett, for "the pauper lunatics of North Wales". At its peak it was home to 1,000 patients, who were cared for by a staff of 700-plus. But after it closed in 1995, under the government's care in the community policy, North Wales Health Authority ran into difficulty in finding a buyer. Among suggested uses were a college, prison, centre of sporting excellence and as a council HQ. Lancashire businessman Gerald Hitman paid £155,000 for it in 1998 - his company revamped a similar former hospital site at Brockhall Village in the Ribble Valley, with Premiership club Blackburn Rovers moving their training facilities to the area. Mr Hitman immediately recouped his money - and more - by selling off individual plots on the hospital site, with the first sale alone raising £250,000. After a dispute with Denbighshire planners, who objected to his plans for large-scale housing, he put the 120-acre site up for auction. Mr Hitman was threatened with legal action by Denbighshire council, as the listed Victorian building deteriorated. Vandals stripped lead from the roofs and stole many items, including the clock from the main tower. When Prince Charles visited the site in July to launch the redevelopment scheme, he launched a fierce attack on asset strippers who allowed premises to fall into disrepair. | 
