SIFA: SRA will have 'no choice' but to soften guidelines on referrals

The SRA has until now only allowed referrals to 'independent' intermediaries. Muirhead's comments follow the release of an SRA consultation document yesterday which suggested amending referral guidelines to allow solicitors to recommend restricted advisers, as long as the status of the adviser is explained to the client. Muirhead argued that the SRA has "no choice" but to make the changes because the FSA's most recent definition of 'independent' and 'restricted' makes a "nonsense" of the dictionary and legal definitions of the terms. He said: "The legal and dictionary definition of...