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The Reader: We stand by Joanna Hardy on inequality and harassment

The Bar Council stands with Joanna Hardy in calling for an end to the behaviour she has highlighted [“Don’t act like you are on a stag do, QCs told”, February 13]. The Bar is a forward-thinking, modern profession and we will not turn a blind eye to harassment and inequality.

Joanna raises issues which we are addressing through lobbying the Government on how the courts are run, to ensure sitting hours do not disadvantage those court users with caring responsibilities.

Women at the Bar face unique challenges. We have recently launched a campaign marking 2019 as the centenary of the law that allowed women to practise as lawyers, which draws attention to many of the issues Joanna has raised.

Progress is being made. However, the more of the profession we represent and the more its leaders acknowledge these concerns, the better we can address them. We are determined to stamp out behaviour that has no place in a modern profession, and to ensure a culture of inclusivity and respect.
Richard Atkins
Chair of the Bar Council

EDITOR'S REPLY

Dear Richard

While it is good to see many people supporting Joanna and wanting to tackle the issues that she raised, it’s also disappointing that these kind of complaints still have to be made.

The Bar Council has a leading role to play in the fight for equality, and the measures you are taking are welcome. But I’d like to see more judges tackle these issues head on. They wield great power over the working lives of lawyers and are regarded as leaders in the legal arena, but will rarely speak out to try to change practices and attitudes.

As I watch each day from the press bench there are regular reminders of the “boys’ club” camaraderie that exists in the legal profession but I see precious few moments of overt inclusivity, where the challenges facing female lawyers are addressed.

Many issues raised by Joanna happen behind closed doors, in legal conferences and robing room conversations. How people behave in public guides their actions in private. Judges can and should do more — alongside leading barristers, HM Courts and Tribunals Service and the Ministry of Justice — to consign Joanna’s complaints to the past.

Tristan Kirk, Courts Correspondent

Labour must do more on toxic air issue

Criticism of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (Ulez) from Dr Faiza Shaheen [“Labour hopeful: Ulez is unfair on poor Londoners,” February 18] typifies many Labour members’ short-termism on environmental issues.

The dirty air we breathe in London is hardest on the poorest, who usually live closer to main roads. They will suffer more illnesses and need more hospital visits, thus putting a huge future burden on the NHS.

If the Labour Party is serious about wanting to help the less advantaged in London, then a proper understanding of the impact of toxic air, and doing all they can to support measures such as the Ulez, is surely the only way forward.
Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb
Green Party

A fishy business

Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner, as reported in The Londoner [February 18], asks if she was “making a common mistake/confusion that fish is OK as a vegetarian”. She should go back to school: not only does her quote make little grammatical sense but it suggests that she thinks fish is a vegetarian option. Is there a test for education ministers, shadow or not?
Gill Hallifax