Abimbola Johnson
@BarristerAbi
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Woke | Barrister | Legal trustee @advocacyacademy | Chair @policeISOB | Views = mine | RT or 'likes' are not an endorsement
London, England
Joined December 2013
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Pinned Tweet
Our second
@PoliceISOB
annual report is published today. Download here:
In it, we emphasise the need for the Police Race Action Plan to be driven by the
@ukhomeoffice
. Something which has been lacking so far.
Since the outset, there has been
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A timely reminder that performative activity on social media is not "action." Amal Clooney has been dragged continuously for the past few months for supposedly being silent on Gaza. She was diligently doing her actual job and making a tangible difference in the real world.
Amal Clooney announces the conclusions of the Panel of Experts in International Law, convened by
@KarimKhanQC
to advise on
@IntlCrimCourt
arrest warrant applications for crimes in Israel and Palestine. Read her
@FinancialTimes
oped.
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Me and my natural hair teaching at Oxford and getting married legally, religiously and traditionally.
@EcheXCVI
Nobody says natural hair is bad. But can you go to events with your natural hair? An envent that you have a function to run?
You can be at your natural look when at home but for an occasion, look your best
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I'll say it again: If you're someone, like me, with a background of extreme privilege that is also Black...and you look around the spaces you occupy and see that you are very often the only Black person there, or one of very few...that IS NOT testament to progress.
"Yes, I went to Eton," says Tory MP Bim Afolami, "I reject the idea that if you are black or you are non-white then there are certain places you are not able to go"
Labour's Tulip Siddiq says "we had different advantages... it's not the same for everyone"
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£1.75 bus fare
She had paid
No criminal offence
Could have been an opportunity to show proportionate policing & deescalation.
Instead you left a little boy in tears surrounded by multiple uniformed officers as they arrest his mother.
Then you described her as abusive.
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Yooo if it's taken you until NOW to start questioning the proportionality of police actions then WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN??????
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Who wrote BoJo's speech today? How has the govnt been hamstrung by lawyers working in criminal justice? These repeated cheap punches at the profession are dangerous & demonstrate a fear of being held remotely accountable. All voters should see this approach as a red signal.
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PC Charlie Harrison broke an innocent black father, Carl Abrahams', leg in front of his sons as they dropped flowers off at their mother's grave. Judge called it a 'clear case of racial profiling',
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@kIopptimistic
Hi Esther.
@SocialMobilityF
is offering assistance to students that need to appeal their grades.
@BLAMCharity
also has some proforma appeal letters available. And
@No5Chambers
and
@3pbEducation
have written helpful resources for navigating the appeals process.
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1. Many missing the point. Black lawyers are exhausted when mistaken for a defendant because black defendants are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. It is a SYMPTOM of the over-criminalisation of black people.
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These Kilclooney tweets are a real insight into racism
1. Does something racist
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@claraamfo
using her
@BBCR1
show to speak about
#mentalhealth
, racism in the UK and blackness in the wake of
#GeorgeFloyd
is exactly the content I needed today. Thank you so so much Clara. Thank you
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I just love the idea of thousands of children seeing a barrister for the first time and it being a woman of mixed heritage with an Essex accent.♥️
@EssexBarrister
♥️
@CBeebiesHQ
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Many of you follow me because of my work re racism. Happy to confirm I've been appointed to Chair an Independent Scrutiny & Oversight Board on the Police Action Plan on Inclusion and Race.
Full statement from me below.
@PoliceChiefs
announcement here:
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The Raheem Sterling Scholarships are open to Black British students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds from the Greater London area. It is worth up to £16,250 per year. Deadline: 30 May
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Black schoolgirl strip searched by police after being wrongly suspected of carrying cannabis. No other adults present. At school. On her period.
A strip search on a minor for CANNABIS?
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Grandma got the COVID vaccine today 🙌🏿🥳
She promised she'd take a photo but changed her mind as they gave her Pfizer rather than the Oxford Uni one which she found outrageous after she specifically told them I'd gone to Oxford 🤣. So instead, here's a photo of her at my wedding
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30 years ago today, Stephen Lawrence was taken away from us in a racist murder. But for the tenacity of his family to seek justice, which included having the law on double jeopardy amended, much of the racism and corruption prevalent in the Met would have gone unchecked.
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Just delivered a seminar on Hate Crime and Discrimination at Oxford. 🤓
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The night after my c-section in Dec 2023, I asked for painkillers repeatedly and was given none. Eventually, my husband went to Tesco to get me paracetamol to take *in hospital.* No idea whether it was because I'm Black but it definitely left me feeling like shit.
TW: A Black woman suffering a miscarriage was told by a midwife ‘you people have a high pain threshold’ after asking for paracetamol. Baby charity Sands says there is a “well-documented problem of systematic racism” in maternity & neonatal care
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4th Wedding Anniversary
Loved this guy so much I married him three times ⚖️🇳🇬💒
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5. Our system allows it to happen. He's in an unelected position of power and the body that deals with complaints against Lords probably once again will not intervene. The system ENABLES the behaviour and that's where the harm comes in.
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I wrote a piece for
@ELLEUK
about being a black lawyer in the criminal justice system. Would love to hear what you all think! x
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To those sharing stories of how you also dropped a-level grades and are fine now, you're missing the point. You dropped grades because of how you performed *in exams*. These students had their grades dropped by an algorithm they had no control over. It's not a fair comparison.
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@kwamekweiarmah
Hi
@kwamekweiarmah
you may know this already, but that could be an assault in law. There may be CCTV on the train which could help the police track down the woman. May be worth reporting it if you're so inclined.
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Edward Colston statue replaced by sculpture of Black Lives Matter protester
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The order of emphasis in this tweet does not sit well....
Two of Lady Gaga’s dogs have been stolen after her dog walker was shot in Hollywood Wednesday night
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This is awful! If you can please donate to help tbe Peckham Food Bank to restock. Donation link is in the tweet below.
Peckham food bank ransacked overnight, leaving struggling families in crisis
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This is actually hilarious. This is me. The photo is from...what? 2007/8? And must have been taken with a long lens camera because I didn't pose for it...👀
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Excuse me... a private security force using handcuffs? On a minor?
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1️⃣ Imagine commissioning the 2017
@DavidLammy
Review (see extract) that:
- Highlighted racial inequality at every stage of criminal justice EXCEPT jury verdicts;
- Made 37 recommendations
Then instead of implementing any of those, deciding to reduce the use of juries...
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Why don't you hack their voicemails to find out.
The two big questions from THAT interview:
1) Who was allegedly racist to Harry about his baby?
2) Who allegedly told Meghan she couldn't have any help when she told them she felt suicidal?
The Sussexes could prevent a lot of damaging rumour-mongering if they tell us.
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2. Doubles down on said racism using the "I know one or two ppl of that race" excuse
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4. Gets caught out in said lie with his own words. He knew who Kamala Harris was three days ago....
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3. Denies it's racist and lies to shift the goalposts. But the lie actually reinforces the racism by again showing he thought it was acceptable to call Kamala Harris "the Indian". Also just an unbelievable lie tbh.
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🧵 To journalists contacting me about the recent developments with the
#StephenLawrence
case. I don't have much to say without sounding like a broken record. I say the below entirely in my own capacity:
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Do you see how amazing this is?
@RabahKherbane
is 6 years' call. He led in a 3 month murder trial. He used gang and drill music experts, hired a PI, argued about police intelligence, his client was in the box for 5 days, others defendants repped by QCs
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Really excited to start this new chapter!
Doughty Street Chambers is delighted to welcome Abimbola Johnson (
@BarristerAbi
) who joins our Actions Against the Police & Inquests and Inquiries team.
Read more here 🔽
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Trump didn't 'side step' the opportunity to condemn white supremacy. He used to directly tell a specific white supremacist group to 'standby'. Because racist.
President Trump sidestepped a question from debate moderator Chris Wallace about whether he was willing to condemn white supremacists and militia groups. “I would say almost everything I see is from the left wing, not the right wing,” Trump said.
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1/ Two officers were found to have *lied* in statements containing declarations of truth; & under oath about smelling cannabis on Williams/Dos Santos/their car. Lied, not 'mistaken' not 'confused' they found that they lied.
For that reason they were sacked.
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If you do see racist abuse online, remember that commenting underneath it, even to admonish the writer, will bring it up on your followers' timelines. Don't engage at all, just report it.
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Non-black friends. This is an
#antriracismchallenge
I've created for you. I shared this on my IG page. It's time for you to work on yourselves and to show up. Especially those that work in the legal system.
#YourSilenceIsOppression
#YourIgnoranceIsHarmful
#YouArentAboveRacism
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1/ Classic example of the
@ukhomeoffice
using a misleading headline the undermine the legal profession. This press release says there's a rise in abuse within the
#ModernSlavery
system. However...
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Would love
@Joannatoch
to explain what the joke was because I don't get it. Please, break it down for me. What was the punchline?
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What PSYCHOPATH decided the best way to fasten baby clothing is a series of tiny tiny poppers that need to be done up in a specific order around the areas babies are most likely to flail wildly at your/their face!?
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No
@pritipatel
they weren't dreadful. They were an overwhelmingly peaceful & lawful demonstration of anguish & hurt on behalf of a racial group that suffers real life dangerous consequences of systemic racism that your regime has massively contributed to.
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Not having an English name is an amazing filter. It's a character test the first time I meet someone who finds my name unusual or difficult to pronounce. It tells me a lot about someone if they don't bother to try to say it, or at least ask how to pronounce it.
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Just a polite reminder that your Black friends are aware that racism in Britain exists.
You don't need to send the comments under the Sainsbury's ad to us.
Send it to your white friends and family instead.
Thanks
🙌🏿
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Also, remember who turned up to protect your rights today. Legal observers from BLACK Protest Legal Support
@blkprotestlegal
. An organisation started by a Black woman
@fufuisonme
and run by a high proportion of lawyers and volunteers of colour.
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3. The solution to this isn't just anti-racism training of course staff and the judicary. It's dealing with the wider issues of racism across the entire justice system that cause so many Black people to end up in docks of court in the first place
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So, no, you will not see me on TV or any quotes from me about this 'development'. Speak to the Lawrences if they want to talk. Speak to the Met, speak to everyone involved in the investigations and hold them to account.
The rest of us know why this mess occurred: RACISM
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Snippet from
@Channel4News
today.
"If you've reached a point where it's having a disproportionate effect on specific members of the community, then something is obviously going wrong."
Barrister, Abimbola Johnson, says the use of stop-and-search by police should be urgently reviewed.
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How lucky am I to have grown up
@25BedfordRow
with amazing Black women like Laurie-Anne Power QC & Melanie Simpson QC? I missed the party as out of the country but please can everyone stop and note these amazing women? 2 of only 7 current Black female QCs
#Next100years
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Everyone! Go to
@middletemple
Hall before December to admire the stunning portraits of Black Middle Templers present and past. Not least the beautiful beautiful Johnny Smythe.
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A HUGE congratulations to two of my friends who have been appointed to Queen's Counsel this year! Melanie Simpson QC and Ijeoma Omambala QC. There were 5 black female QC appointments this year. I believe Ijeoma is the first EVER female Nigerian QC
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Spoke to the Mirror about the social media backlash those who highlight police racism often face, myself included. This was in response to publication of the
@PoliceISOB
annual report () which the article also helpfully summarises
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2. It reminds us that people who work in the CJS are so used to seeing Black faces to the point that ANY Black face in the court room is a defendant. It shows the internal programming of those that work at court and how deep this issue runs.
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These are the lawyers who are at times attending court physically during the height of the coronavirus spike in England's cities.
Lawyers going to magistrate's courts to keep the criminal justice system moving for the cost of around £30-40 a day.
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Harry said he was worried about history repeating itself but this was "MORE SERIOUS BECAUSE THEN YOU ADD RACE IN."
The Queen's grandson said that. With his own mouth.
But ppl debate it & say Meghan's making it up.
Rather attack those that call out racism than deal with racism
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Written by the wife of a friend and colleague of mine about his experiences of racism.
America's Problem?
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1. Times like these can often leave us feeling concerned about safety and impotent against structures that are meant to protect us. I really started to feel this particularly in the last two years and want to share some of the things that may give others reassurance.
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Ruth Bader Ginsburg changed America long before she joined the supreme court | Moira Donegan
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If you think I'm annoyingly vocal now, I'm about to get so much worse after becoming a mother in a few days' time.
I'll have a little person that I chose to bring into this world asking me why things are the way they are and what I did to change it.
Accountability is 🔑.
Whew!
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I've been mulling this over for a few hrs. It effectively says that our PM deliberately chose to use a term that harks back to practices that undermined basic human rights and were widely used during the Jim Crow era in America...for attention.
Policing minister
@kitmalthouse
tells me on
@Channel4News
that
@BorisJohnson
talking of "chain gangs" was "colourful language" designed to get people's attention...Watch at 7
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Waiting for Piers to tell us how this is Meghan's fault.
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Watching Saka cry in Southgate's arms just made me shed a tear. This game man. Sigh.
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One thing about middle age (which at 35, I've come to accept I've reached) is everything is SO IMPORTANT:
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Has the full reasoning for this decision been published anywhere? The idea that an officer can strike a dying man repeatedly and be allowed to keep their job demands transparency and explanation.
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Spoke to Bloomberg along with other Black lawyers about navigating our work places. The interviews were held separately, and work in different areas but have all had very similar experiences. There's clearly a lot more work to be done
Black lawyers in Britain speak out about their experiences working in the justice system, as the profession vows to confront its historic racism
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I think tonight's webinar went well. My fiercest critic seemed to think so...
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Lawyers,
@feminist_co
has a sign up form on their website if you're able to provide legal assistance to protestors. It asks for current location so even if outside Nigeria we can still sign. sign now so they have our details & can contact us as & when we can be useful
#EndSARS
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My
@25BedfordRow
colleague Leon Lynch on
@BBCNews
at 10 during
@CliveMyrieBBC
's fantastic report into UK systemic racism. Leon's a really private person but has felt compelled to share his experiences to show all just how deeply these issues run. Proud & saddened by this.
#BLM
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6. Just ignore my typos, it's 930 on a Friday night and I'm tweeting about racism. Tired.
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4. No, it's not because Black people are more likely to commit crimes. It's because our system is fundamentally flawed and targets Black people and other ethnic minorities; the working class; immigrants; the poor. It's even overly punitive against female defendants. I could go on
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For a start, he's a boy. He's 16. And apparently, for hours, you didn't tell his own mother where he was being taken. Sounds familiar.
@navaade_
@metpoliceuk
We are aware of a video posted on social media showing part of an incident involving the arrest of a male in Bryanston Street, Westminster. This occurred on Thursday 20 April at around 7pm. The male was taken into custody and bailed to return pending further enquiries.
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If the police and CJS wants to show they deserve the respect and trust of families like the Lawrences and the wider communities effected, then RADICALLY CHANGE SO THAT THIS NEVER EVER HAPPENS AGAIN
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An immigration minister who either doesn't know what the Refugee Convention says, or does but wilfully misquotes it, shouldn't be an immigration minister.
"They're not asylum shoppers they're asylum seekers... That's not true."
@krishgm
challenges immigration minister Robert Jenrick after he claims "asylum shoppers" should seek sanctuary in the first safe country they reach under the "Refugee Convention".
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Stuart cried on stage that day. He spoke about the pressure he feels to be positive and to be honest, it broke me. I am heartbroken by the number of times the victims of murder have to become activists, spokespersons and pioneers to receive even a semblance of justice.
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Urgent letter signed by more than 60 lawyers myself included, urging the
@ukhomeoffice
and
@pritipatel
to stop tomorrow's deportations.
More than 60 lawyers, NGOs, community orgs urgently signed this open letter to the
@ukhomeoffice
@pritipatel
to stop the unlawful, unjust deportations on 2 Dec 2020. We have 1 day to stop this. Please read and share
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Police Federation chair accepts Met is institutionally racist, sexist and homophobic
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.
@CEOofHMCTS
no doubt you will be able to see where Ms Mitchell sits and will commit to ensuring her courthouse engages in anti-racism training. I look forward to reading details of the plan for rolling out such training nationally. We all know it's needed.
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Where else but the Bar would you explain you're on maternity leave and then be asked how much work you're still doing?🤦🏿♀️
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I've had an embargoed copy of the
@Casey_Review
since Monday afternoon. It's a weighty document. Over 360 pages. I've spent a few hours reading through, digesting, contemplating and I'm still working through it.
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Let's momentarily look past the objectionable premise of the Rwanda scheme. This is literally an admission that you spent £140m of public money on a scheme you knew not to be legal under the current system plus the legal fees you spent launching appeals.
Today’s Supreme Court judgment is no surprise. It was predicted by a number of people close to the process. Given the current state of the law, there is no reason to criticise the judges. Instead, the government must introduce emergency legislation. 1/3
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5. MANY have written extensively about these issues. Like I always say, start with the government's own reports and data from the 1981 Scarman Report through to the 2017 David Lammy Review and beyond. The issues are insidious and are not moving in the right direction
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Really great to have been featured in this year's
#TheLawyerHot100
amongst such amazing colleagues, including my friend
@MassNdowNjie
. It serves as a reminder that people are aware of (and invested in) the work we're doing. Thank you for pushing us all to remain accountable 🙌🏿
#TheLawyerHot100
🔥 |
@BarristerAbi
has spent the past decade defending those beset by social injustice and inequality. In her new role, the
@25BedfordRow
junior will go one step further...
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In today's
@guardian
, I explore why I've taken on the role as chair of the
@PoliceISOB
, set out what I hope the Board achieves and confirm that we launch recruitment this week in partnership with
@InclusiveBoards
.
My Black friends fear calling the police. That's why I'm taking on racism in the force | Abimbola Johnson
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@Dominiquetaegon
You say you "eventually" turned it down. So does that mean you actually entertained writing the article in the first place? Or was that just clumsy phrasing...
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@legally_lola
Actually, please can you take this down before Joe Public expects us to turn up to court looking this correct? You're setting "the Bar" too high.
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These are the lawyers sitting in court and police station cells less than 2m away from clients going through important pieces of evidence, taking public transport, working in environments with woeful social distancing measures.
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Guys, especially after 2020. If your reaction to that guy's Twitter is "I'm shocked" or "I'm ashamed" to see "a member of my profession speak like this". Well...I guess you didn't learn enough from those anti-racism reading lists 💁🏾♀️. We have a long way to go and we know it.
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.
@guardian
asked a panel "What one change would you make to achieve black equality in Britain?" Here's my answer and a few of my favourites. I lawyered mine and said I'd change everything...
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