Lord Sheikh on Treatment of Muslims in Judiciary

Lord Sheikh on Treatment of Muslims

in the Judiciary System

Dr. Mozammel Haque

“My Lords, 41% of children in prisons are from the BAME community, and a large number of them are Muslims. About 15% of prisoners are Muslims, and in London, the figure is 27%. Some of those Muslims have been victimised by the staff,” said the Conservative Peer Lord Sheikh through virtual on the debate on Lammy Review in the House of Lords on 30 June, 2020 through virual.

Lord Griffiths of Burry Port (Lab) [V]

Earlier, Labour Peer, Lord Griffiths of Burry Port, said, “My Lords, we have heard ample reference to the fact that a number of aspects of the way racial minorities are treated in the justice system has simply got worse since the Lammy report, which is difficult to square with the assurance given by the Minister that so much is being done. Let me quote someone from the Government Benches: Mr Sajid Javid argues that it is time to shine a light on injustice, but that that is not enough. He says:

“We need an action plan … The Racial Disparity Audit found the data. The commission must deliver the solutions.”

The Runnymede Trust added that the Government are “knee-deep in evidence”.

Lord Griffiths asked, “Can the Minister give us the assurance that a sense of urgency is being injected into this whole process? We have heard the same allegations over and over again since Scarman in 1981.

Lord Keen of Elie [V]

Lord Keen of Elie replied through virtual, “My Lords, we are committed to improving the collection and publication of data, and to using the data to identify and tackle disparities across the criminal justice system. We have been working very closely with the Race Disparity Unit since its formation in 2016, and we continue to add and update metrics on the ethnicity facts and figures website as part of our commitment to transparency.”

Lord Sheikh (Con) [V]

Conservative Peer Lord Sheikh of Cornhill speaking about the treatment of the Muslim prisoners in the judiciary system said, “My Lords, 41% of children in prisons are from the BAME community, and a large number of them are Muslims. About 15% of prisoners are Muslims, and in London, the figure is 27%. Some of those Muslims have been victimised by the staff. The custodial sentences imposed on those from BAME communities can be up to 10 years longer than those applied to white people—several lawyers have said this to me.”

Speaking about the appalling lack of diversity in the judiciary system, Lord Sheikh said, “There is an appalling lack of diversity in our judiciary, from the magistrates’ courts to the Supreme Court. Only 7% of judges are from BAME communities, and the figure for magistrates is 12%. Stop and search in BAME communities has risen by 69% for the last five years. I have been stopped by police for allegedly using a phone, which was not so. A sergeant then turned up and said that if there was any difference of opinion between me and his officer, he would believe the officer. I was appalled by the closing of ranks. I believe that I was picked upon because I was driving a Bentley coupé with a personalised number plate. Can the Minister comment on my points?

Lord Keen of Elie [V]

Lord Keen of Elie replied through virtual, “My Lords, we are of course concerned about ensuring visible diversity across the entire justice system. That is particularly challenging in the judiciary and magistracy, and we have introduced an education programme for those from backgrounds not properly represented to undertake training in order that they can apply. Further across the criminal justice system, I note that we have made progress. For example, with the Parole Board, there was grave underrepresentation of BAME members, but we reported in February this year that 53 independent members would join the board, 48% of whom are from a BAME background.”