Jack Henry Sadler told the Bar Standards Board (BSB) that he was unaware – despite being told – that he could be heard and was being recorded during the professional ethics assessment, which he took remotely in July 2023.

Mr Sadler was recorded making comments like “I’m so fucking bored of this” and “Fucking finally, a criminal question… This civil shit… How can you have any ethics if you’re a civil practitioner, honestly.”

When asked at the start of the exam to use his webcam to show that he did not have access to his phone or a watch, he said: “What is a watch going to do, how the fuck am I going to cheat with a watch, come on.”

At another point, he said: “You’re going to kick up a fuss about me having a fucking ibuprofen, aren’t you?”

When the exam proctor contacted Mr Sadler via a chatbox, he said: “What? Fucking piss off, I don’t need to start a fucking chat.”

In the middle of the exam, Mr Sadler also began accessing work emails, meaning that client information was exposed to exam officials. He said out loud: “Don’t worry I’m not cheating, this is the middle of a workday, I have work to do.”

Finally, at the end of the exam, Mr Sadler held his middle finger to the camera.

The BSB was told that Mr Sadler’s behaviour was “a catastrophic lapse in judgment, for which he is deeply ashamed and deeply sorry, and not… anything more insidious”. It also heard that he had left the Bar and gained other employment.

In the circumstances, a disciplinary panel concluded that a “low level fine” of £500 “would be proportionate”.