Geoffrey Cox QC, who also helped to bring to an end the prosecution of the property tycoon Nicholas van Hoogstraten, was one of 10 barristers who billed a total of £4.6m in legal aid for work on the £60m case, the most costly in British legal history.
Last week, the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith QC, announced an urgent inquiry into the circumstances that led to the trial judge ordering the acquittal of six defendants accused of serious fraud before any of them had completed their evidence at the Old Bailey.
The collapse brought public condemnation of the way complex fraud cases are tried in this country and called into question the role of juries in such cases.
Now, figures released by the Legal Services Commission show how the men’s barristers were paid nearly £5m out of the public purse for the 18-month trial. Five firms of solicitors shared fees of almost £9m.
But Geoffrey Cox QC, Conservative parliamentary candidate for Torridge and West Devon, was paid £300,000 more than any of the other publicly-paid barristers. Mr Cox, who heads his own London chambers, represented Anthony Wootton, 50, a contracts manager who was employed as a contractor by London Underground for the Jubilee Line extension project.
Mr Wootton denied conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to corruptly accept any gift or consideration while employed by London Underground. The trial collapsed before Mr Cox had the opportunity to put Mr Wootton’s case before the jury.
