Issue 353  6th July 2024

Birmingham MP and former practising barrister Shabana Mahmood was today named as lord chancellor and secretary of state for justice in the new Labour government. Mahmood was the fourth former shadow minister to walk into Downing Street today following Sir Keir Starmer's appointment as prime minister. She will be the first observant Muslim and only the second woman to assume the ancient office of lord chancellor.

Mahmood, 43, was elected as MP for Birmingham Ladywood in 2010. She was born and brought up in Birmingham and called to the bar at Grays Inn after studying on a scholarship. In practice, she specialised in professional indemnity cases. She was appointed shadow justice secretary in September last year. Previous shadow ministerial roles included spells at home affairs, business and as shadow chief secretary to the Treasury. Setting out a future Labour government’s plans for justice at a Law Society event in April, Mahmood said that rape victims would receive state-funded legal advice and representation to protect their rights as their cases go through the criminal justice process. Advice would be provided by a ‘local solicitor’ who will be ‘at hand in every police area in England and Wales', she said. Mahmood did not pledge increased funding for legal aid, stating that she could not make unfunded proposals. But she said that, if appointed, she would be a ‘champion of our legal industry’. She pledged to work with the Treasury to ‘ensure our legal services are a growth sector’ and to seek a ‘renewed partnership for the legal sector’.

Mahmood is expected to be sworn in as lord chancellor at the Royal Courts of Justice ahead of the opening of parliament on 17 July.

In a significant development following Labour’s landslide victory over the Conservatives in Thursday’s election, James Timpson OBE, the chief executive of the Timpson shoe repair chain, has been appointed as the new Minister for Prisons, Parole, and Probation. The announcement was made yesterday as part of the new Prime Minister’s cabinet appointments.

Mr Timpson’s appointment has been widely applauded due to his well-documented commitment to rehabilitating ex-convicts and his passion for business. His notable efforts include serving as Chair of the Employers Forum for Reducing Re-offending (EFFRR) until 2016 and later becoming Chair of the Prison Reform Trust. In this role, he established an Employment Advisory Board network throughout the country to improve job opportunities for prison leavers. In recognition of his active work in supporting disadvantaged individuals through employment and training, Mr Timpson was awarded an OBE in 2011. His commitment to this cause is further evidenced by the employment of over 600 ex-prisoners in Timpson branches across the UK, a move praised for its role in offender rehabilitation...

Britain’s prisons are just days away from being completely full, i has learned, with officials this week discussing the implementation of radical “one-in, one-out” emergency measures. The last ditch plan, codenamed Operation Brinker, is being considered by the prison service because early release scheme and other controversial attempts to ease overcrowding are being overtaken by rising numbers of inmates. The news means the new government being elected on Thursday will be walking into a crisis already boiling over on day one of its administration...

Quarterly criminal court statistics have been delayed for quality assurance following ‘concerns about the quality of key data inputs’, it has emerged. The Ministry of Justice was due to release the latest statistics into the volume of cases received through the criminal court in England and Wales, including figures on case timelines, on 27 June.  But the evening before the data, covering January to March 2024, was due to be published, an announcement was made stating cancellation of the release and giving no date as to future publication.

In a statement the MoJ said: ‘The release of these statistics has been postponed for further quality assurance following concerns about the quality of key data inputs. This is in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics.’ An MoJ spokesman said: ‘In line with the Code of Practice for Statistics, we have delayed publication while HMCTS reviews the data that underpins the criminal court statistics. We will publish the statistics when the review is complete.’ The review has yet to be completed and the MoJ said it could not answer questions about how the concerns came to light or when the review started or was expected to finish.