THE supercar-driving director of one of Britain’s biggest legal aid law firms has been ordered to pay back £22 million in fraudulent claims.

A High Court judge has ruled that John Blavo, of Blavo and Co Solicitors, must pay the money back after making thousands of false claims on the legal aid fund.

Blavo lived a lavish lifestyle in a multi-million pound house in the city, where he reportedly owned a number of supercars.

Blavo’s firm, Blavo & Co Solicitors—which has a branch at Phoenix House in Campfield Road, St Albans — was closed in 2015 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority when concerns were raised about its huge legal claims.

A c riminal investigation into the fraud - which is still  ongoing - was launched by the Metropolitan Police, the Times has reported.

Blavo & Co Solicitors was one of the largest three legal aid firms in the country after it was founded in 2011, specialising in mental health law.

An investigation launched in 2015 by the Legal Aid Agency found that Blavo & Co made 24,658 legal aid fee claims for representing clients at mental health hearings between April 2012 and March 2015.

But investigators found a ‘very significant discrepancy’ between claims made on the legal aid portal and cases recorded on the court service’s database.

The Legal Aid Agency only found evidence of 1,485 of these cases taking place.

Mr Justice Pepperall said in the High Court the Lord Chancellor seeks to “recover over £22 million of public funds that were paid to Blavo & Co. Solicitors.