A solicitor being investigated for alleged financial irregularities has welcomed a decision to prosecute him.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has referred the case of Marcus Paul Nickson for prosecution before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

It comes after officials identified “several inappropriate payments out of trust funds”, of which Mr Nickson was a trustee.

A total of £530,000 was found to be missing.

The case was heard by the SRA last year but a decision published this month reveals the regulator has referred it to the disciplinary tribunal. The SRA website states: “This notification relates to a decision to prosecute before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

“This is an independent tribunal which will reach its own decision after considering all the evidence, including any evidence put forward by the solicitor.

“The tribunal has certified that there is a case to answer in respect of allegations.”

It adds: “The allegations are subject to a hearing... and are as yet unproven.”

Mr Nickson told the News & Star he welcomed the forthcoming proceedings.

“It would give me the opportunity to refute the wild allegations that have been published against me,” he said.

Mr Nickson, who was a partner at the now-closed KJ Commons & Co which had offices in Carlisle and west Cumbria, faces allegations including:

n Failure to act with integrity

n Acting in such a way as to diminish the trust the public placed in him or the legal profession

n Failure to comply with a court order requiring him and/or his firm to take a particular course of action

n Failure to provide a good standard of service to his client

The offences are alleged to date between 1999 and November 2012.

Mr Nickson worked on several high-profile Cumbrian cases including a £3 million payout for a young boy left with catastrophic brain damage after medics at the West Cumberland Hospital failed to spot he was being starved of oxygen.

He also worked on the case of a man from Bigrigg left with kidney failure after he ate a contaminated burger on a luxury Egyptian holiday. He won £750,000 compensation.