PCC orders erasure from the Register of Architects

PCC orders erasure from the Register of Architects (25/07/2006)

At a Hearing of the Architects Registration Board’s Professional Conduct Committee in London on 21 July 2006, architect Mr Peter J White of Netherhall Dairy House, Bridge of Dee, Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland, DG7 2AA (Registration number 047624B), was removed from the Register of Architects, having being found guilty of a criminal offence relevant to his fitness to practise as an architect.

Mr White had previously been convicted of theft by Selkirk Sheriff’s Court on 1 August 2005. He admitted to the Court that he had stolen £60,000 from an elderly woman’s estate in 2003 and the Sheriff, despite acknowledging that the sum had been repaid with interest, declared that a substantial betrayal of trust had occurred and jailed Mr White for 12 months.

After this conviction came to the attention of the Board, disciplinary proceedings were instigated and a Professional Conduct Committee hearing was arranged for a date when the architect could attend if he so wished. The architect chose not to be present, but instead submitted written mitigation after admitting the offence.

In summing up, PCC Chairman Michael Williams acknowledged the distress that had been caused to both the victim and the perpetrator of the crime. He further stated that, in the Committee’s view, it was clear that the provisions of paragraph 3 of the Code had been broken, and that the behaviour of the architect constituted unacceptable professional conduct. In these circumstances, the Committee had no alternative but to make an order of erasure from the Register.