Black barrister was told ‘it’s not for defendants’ at London court car park
Summary
A black barrister named Stephen Akinsanya said a security guard at a London court told him he could not park in the court’s car park because “it’s not for defendants.” He said this shows racism still exists in the justice system, even after more than 30 years working in law.Key Facts
- Stephen Akinsanya is a black barrister who received an OBE for work on youth knife crime prevention.
- About four weeks ago, a security guard told him defendants aren’t allowed to park in the court car park.
- Akinsanya was wearing his barrister’s gown, but the guard still mistook him for a defendant.
- The guard apologized and allowed him to park after realizing the mistake.
- Similar incidents have happened before, including in 2020 when black barristers were mistaken for defendants.
- The number of black judges in England and Wales increased only slightly over 10 years, remaining much lower than the black population share.
- There are calls for targets to increase black representation and for oversight boards to investigate bias in judge appointments.
- A 2022 report said the judiciary may be institutionally racist, and some appointment practices lack transparency.
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