U’ve signed a career death warrant’
TO RAISE ISSUES OF BIAS AND BULLYING AMID CALLS TO CHANGE APPOINTMENT CRITERIA
investigations office does not record the diversity profile of complainants, or of judges who are subject to disciplinary action.”
The government also does not record whether there is a link between those who retire early and those with grievances on the grounds of race or other bias.
Herbert said it was time for the Equality and Human Rights Commission to investigate the judiciary.
“I find it absolutely astonishing, 20 years-plus after the MacPherson inquiry, the judiciary, led by the lord chancellor, lord chief justice, do not see fit to keep records of diversity in terms of promotion, retention, appointment, but particularly in terms of complaints of discipline,” he said.
Last July, Eastern Eye sent its evidence of bullying and racism to the justice select committee.
A committee spokesperson said, “The justice committee has raised questions over the past 12 months with ministers and the senior judiciary about diversity within the judicial system, as well as covering, in both evidence sessions and reports, wider questions of racial disparity within the criminal justice system.
“The committee will continue to raise those questions.”
But Gardiner said the time for inquiries were over, adding that there had been “umpteen reports” into racism and “they sit on shelves”.
“They now need to take urgent action in making it a safe place for anyone who is a whistleblower, so that they are not automatically seen as the problem, the person to be sidelined and ostracised within the organisation,” the MP said.
“They need, in a sense, to lionise those people and to give them status within the organisation and actually listen to what they are asking to be done.”
The MoJ told Eastern Eye that any questions about allegations of racism and bullying should be directed to the judicial office. The government, it said, could not dictate how the independent judiciary investigated its own members.
Last July, Eastern Eye also urged the lord chief justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon, to investigate the paper’s findings.
To date, neither his office nor he has acknowledged there is a problem. Instead, they hide behind Eastern Eye’s unwillingness to name sources, and they refuse to understand why judges of colour feel unable, afraid and reluctant to complain formally.
Indeed, in a news conference in
February 2020, Lord Burnett denied he had ever known one case of bullying in the judiciary, and appeared to dismiss that bullying could ever exist.
“Bullying is a term which I think one has to be quite careful with, and my strong sense is in society, in general, it is being used nowadays to describe conduct which, in the past, it simply could not have been used to describe,” he said.
“But what I can say is, to the extent that there are cases of judges bullying other judges, if they come to the attention of the leadership judges, and through the leadership judges up the system to me, we would take appropriate action to try to deal with it.”
“It is obviously completely unacceptable,” he added.
His statement raised among judges of colour.
“That is so typical,” said one. “Let’s bury our heads in the sand and pretend bullying and racism don’t exist.
“If every other institution, from the police, to the armed forces, admits it has racism, why would the judiciary be exempt? Is it that the judiciary has found a magical cure, where it’s somehow bereft of any difficulty?
“The answer
is
it
hackles
isn’t,
and
it can’t be any different from places which are predominantly male, pale, stale and elitist.”
Eastern Eye asked the judicial office a series of questions based on the newspaper’s investigation.
In response, a spokesperson said, “The judiciary cannot respond to anonymous and unsubstantiated allegations.
“Where allegations or complaints are made directly to the judiciary they are investigated and dealt with appropriately.
“It is fundamental to the ethos of all judges to treat everyone equally and with respect. The judiciary is committed to ensuring that the environment in which judicial office-holders work is free from bullying and harassment of any kind.”
They also pointed to the training judges receive, its diversity and inclusion strategy and the existing ways in which they could make formal complaints.
“Formal complaints may also be made to the judicial conduct investigations office, and a whistleblowing policy is in its final stage of development,” said the spokesperson. “If judges have suffered bullying, harassment, victimisation, or any other grievance from colleagues or anyone these processes provide for independent investigation.”
But it is this very system that judges of colour said they could not trust.
“We daren’t raise our heads above the parapet,” said one south Asian judge. “Look at what happened to Claire Gilham when she went down the formal route. Do you really expect anyone else to do the same? The problem is real, we’re not making it up, only everyone chooses to ignore it.”
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