A prominent British barrister with a human rights career spanning over 50 years, Michael Mansfield QC has a wealth of knowledge and experience, especially in relation to issues of civil liberties. A professional who is driven by the desire to help others within our community and who is not afraid of challenging institutions, Mr Mansfield has been involved in many high-profile cases. He represented the family of Stephen Lawrence, the accused IRA bombers, and the Birmingham Six, and was involved in the legal aftermath of the Bloody Sunday incident and the Hillsborough disaster. This month, Human Rights Pulse had the privileged opportunity to interview and celebrate this extraordinary ‘activist lawyer’. 

ROUTE INTO LAW

Mr Mansfield came from a railway family with no contacts in the legal sector. He attributes his legal path to two factors. Firstly, his mother’s strong sense of justice, including when she challenged a parking fine, and won. She also sowed the justice seed with her remark that: “if they are prepared to lie about me over that, just imagine what they are doing to everybody else”. Secondly, Mr Mansfield enjoyed  US TV series The Defenders, where the father-son duo took on important social issues giving people a voice in hopeless situations. 

Despite the significant hurdle of not even knowing what the legal profession involved, Mr Mansfield created his own opportunities by travelling to the Inner Temple in London. Following an explanation of what was required to become a barrister, he completed his training, returned, and asked for a pupillage. Mr Mansfield’s hard work, resilience and determination resulted in him being called to the Bar in 1967. He then established Tooks Chambers in 1984 and became Queen’s Counsel in 1989. 

Read more about Mr Mansfield’s journey, and some of the interesting cases he has worked on in his book - Memoirs of a Radical Lawyer. 

ACTIVIST LAWYER – A POLITICIAN’S TOOL 

Not concerned with the use of labels, Mr Mansfield believes that politicians use the term ‘activist lawyer’ to describe lawyers who go beyond what they ‘should do’ and those who challenge government policies. From his experience, this pattern of behaviour has always existed where lawyers who carry issues outside the courtroom to the general public and campaign for change, are branded in a negative light. Mr Mansfield himself was referred to as a ‘red under the bed’ with affiliate links to communist beliefs, the result of engaging in cases relating to equality and justice. He also received death threats and was branded a traitor when he represented the Price Sisters who were responsible for bombs in London in 1973, and when he defended those who were wrongly convicted such as the Birmingham Six and Guildford Four. 

Mr Mansfield highlighted Patrick Finucane as another shocking example of this treatment.  Politicians claimed that the 39-year old Belfast solicitor was some type of terrorist, and was subsequently shot dead in front of his family in 1989. Until this day, the politicians involved have never admitted that they played a part in encouraging the disregard of lawyers. Over 30 years later, the parties are still calling for a public inquiry into his killing with the aim to restore public confidence in the (i) rule of law and (ii) administration of justice.

This vilification of lawyers by politicians is something that we still see today, where recently Home Secretary Priti Patel and Prime Minister Boris Johnson have castigated activist lawyers, who have been conducting immigration work. There was then an attack on a firm of solicitors who represent refugees. Although a petition was signed by over 800 legal professionals, asking the government to withdraw their statements, nothing has come to fruition. Mr Mansfield expresses deep concerns that the politicians are making baseless accusations against a profession who are trying to uphold the rule of law and democracy in our society. 

THREATS TO OUR HUMAN RIGHTS 

During our interview, Mr Mansfield highlighted some examples that pose a threat to our human rights that are not in mainstream media. We at HRP, are bringing them to light.

Restriction to the right to bring a judicial review: already shrouded by strict time limits and strict principles on who can bring claims, a judicial review is one of the few ways we can bring the government to account. 

Covert Human Intelligence Sources (Criminal Conduct) Bill: also referred to as ‘spycops’, the Bill is a piece of legislation currently being considered to legitimise the use of undercover agents within the UK by government agents. The proposals would give agents immunity to do certain activities, including allowing them to operate outside the law, with the possibility of being given the ultimate power of killing with no repercussion. 

Undercover Policing Inquiry: its purpose is to examine the activities of undercover police officers in England and Wales since 1968. Some of the alleged abuse of power included officers who infiltrated campaign groups, taking a deceased child’s name, formed relationships with women and fed inside information to the police. Lawyers were spied on, including Mr Mansfield himself when he represented Mrs Lawrence. To stay up to date with the inquiry, visit the UCPI website. 

A crucial take away from my conversation with Mr Mansfield is that to future activist lawyers and members of the public wanting to uphold democracy, continue to speak up and defend our Rights as they are forever under investigation and being attacked. 

Catch our recent interview with Mr Mansfield below.

Ploy is currently a paralegal in London. She has an LLB from Swansea University and an LLM LPC from BPP University in Cambridge. She is interested in promoting human rights injustices and bringing them into the public domain, with a particular focus on children due to their vulnerable status.

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