Is FCA expert evidence truly independent?

In January 2026, the Upper Tribunal ruled that it would be "unfair" to admit certain Financial Conduct Authority witness evidence as expert evidence because the witness was conflicted. Although the Tribunal later admitted parts of the material as factual evidence, the ruling nevertheless strikes at a central pillar of many FCA enforcement cases: reliance upon specialist expert opinion to establish regulatory breaches. Litigation  The Dunne/Fenech litigation arose from pension transfer advice provided between 2015 and 2017. The FCA alleged that the applicants had operated a flawed "t...