Because of the appearance of bias a barrister should not continue to act as a third arbitrator in a matter in which solicitors for one of the parties made allegations against the other party's principal witness in respect of disclosure and the barrister had been recently instructed by those solicitors in another matter in which similar allegations had been made against that same witness. If the properly informed independent observer concluded that there was a real possibility of bias, that was a species of "serious irregularity" which had caused substantial injustice to the applicant within the Arbitration Act 1996 s.68.

[2005] EWHC 2238 (Comm)