A leading solicitor who headbutted the father of an EastEnders actor during a £100 million High Court battle has been struck off.

Philip Saunders, who is Jewish, was caught on CCTV attacking property developer Mohammad Reza Ghadami at the Royal Courts of Justice, in central London, in April 2016.

Property developer Mr Ghadami, the father of Davood Ghadami, who portrayed Kush Kazemi on the BBC soap opera, was left with a broken nose which required surgery. 

At the time, Saunders, 70, had been involved in a multi-million pound property dispute with Mr Ghadami and others.

Saunders, from Maida Vale, West London, alleged he was provoked by an antisemitic slur directed at him by Mr Ghadami. The Crown Prosecution Service dropped an investigation inti Mr Ghadami’s conduct in March 2017.

In January last year Saunders was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, although he avoided jail. He was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, suspended for two years.

A spokesperson for the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal said yesterday that Saunders was struck off the roll of solicitors, and ordered to pay costs of £4,611.

Saunders, a leading property conveyance solicitor, was a partner in the Marylebone-based law firm Saunders Bearman between 1996 and 2013.