EXCLUSIVE: Solicitor guilty of headbutt attack on EastEnders star's father INSIDE Royal Courts of Justice

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A veteran solicitor could face jail for an astonishing headbutt attack on an EastEnders star’s father when they came face-to-face at the High Court in a bitter £100 million legal battle.

Philip Saunders, 69, lunged forward at businessman Mohammad Reza Ghadami during an angry confrontation on the first floor landing of the Rolls Building at the Royal Courts of Justice.

Shocking CCTV footage shows the two men, who had been on opposite sides in court that day, exchange words before Mr Ghadami, 62, swung his briefcase in between Saunders legs in a bid to move him out of the way.

Saunders, a leading property conveyance solicitor who has worked on multi-million pound property deals during his 43-year career, took a step back before striking Mr Ghadami in the face with his forehead.

The pair faced off against each other amid a £100 million legal battle

A shocked Mr Ghadami, whose son Davood plays Kush on BBC soap EastEnders, is then seen stumbling away from the scene with blood streaming from his broken nose as he went to alert security.

Mr Ghadami told a trial at Inner London crown court that he had been heading to the toilet at the end of court proceedings on April 7 last year when Saunders approached him “out of the blue”.

Victim: Mohammad Reza Ghadami after the attack

The property developer, from Harlow, has been locked in a long-running and acrimonious legal battle with businessman Paul Bloomfield and 18 others - including Saunders - over a disputed land deal, claiming £100 million in damages.

He said on the day of the attack, Saunders said to him: “You better f***ing find the money to pay me and others”, and when he replied that he did not owe him anything, Saunders said: “We are f***ing in charge, you just got lucky”.

There was an exchange of words and then Saunders headbutted Mr Ghadami

“He said you don’t know what we are capable of, you will never succeed in the case”, Mr Ghadami said in evidence. “He kept on at me about money and winning and power.”

The businessman said he was desperate for the toilet and swung his briefcase at the solicitor in a bid to get past, calling him a “piece of s**t”.

“He went backwards and all his body lifted his head, which he put on the back of my nose”, Mr Ghadami said. “I couldn’t believe it, it was bleeding from my nose and mouth.

“I went straight downstairs to tell someone what had happened.

Mohammed Reza Ghadami, posing in Albert Square

“He just told me to remember it and I do remember it, I will never forget it. He wanted me to remember what I was getting.”

Prosecutor Andrew Dowden told jurors Saunders carried out the attack “in a rage” following a string of acrimonious court hearings involving the two men.

“Mr Ghadami told him to f*** off and move out of his way, then describes using his briefcase to push Mr Saunders away”, he said.

“Mr Ghadami went to go to the toilet, at that stage Mr Saunders put his head back and headbutted Mr Ghadami in the nose.”

Saunders was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm by a jury in January

He said Saunders, a registered solicitor since 1974 who was a partner in Marylebone-based law firm Saunders Bearman between 1996 and 2013, told police he acted in self-defence.

Saunders claimed he had been “hit in the balls” with Mr Ghadami’s suitcase and called a “Jewish s**t” during the confrontation.

But Mr Dowden told the court: “Whatever happened between the parties prior to Mr Saunders headbutting Mr Ghadami, there was no need for him to headbutt Mr Ghadami. He was not acting in self-defence at that time.”

Saunders, who appeared last week as a witness in the high-profile court battle involving the billionaire Candy brothers, was found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm by a jury in January.

The victim's son Davood plays Kush on BBC soap EastEnders

However, Recorder Steven Gasztowicz QC blocked press reports of the case because Ghadami himself was due to stand trial over the incident, accused of a racial aggravated public order offence.

He was accused of using the anti-Semitic slur against Saunders, but the CPS dropped the case last Friday offering no evidence, meaning the extraordinary incident can be reported for the first time today.

Recorder Gasztowicz has freed Saunders, of Maida Vale, on bail until sentencing today but has warned prison is a possibility.

Saunders denied the offence but was found guilty by a jury of assault occasioning actual bodily harm following a week-long trial.

Joseph Ghadami, another son of the victim, said his father needed surgery to a broken nose following the attack and is still suffering the after-effects.

"He has bad eyesight and it has made that worse, and his concentration seems to be lacking since then", he said.

"When he wants to read things out in court, he is very muddled and confused. He now finds it difficult to do some things."

He added Mr Ghadami has also had trouble sleeping as a result of the attack.

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