Keir Starmer is facing calls to defend the legal profession against government attacks on 'lefty lawyers', amid further concerns for the safety of an immigration solicitor subjected to a 'targeted campaign' by the Conservative Party.
Martin Forde KC, the senior lawyer commissioned by Starmer to investigate Labour's culture, said legal professionals from across the political spectrum had expressed their bewilderment that the Labour leader had not said anything after such personal attacks, even after former Conservative law officers criticised the political rhetoric aimed at 'lefty lawyers' on Friday.
Jacqueline McKenzie has received a torrent of abuse since CCHQ circulated a dossier last week. She told the Guardian people had threatened to drown her 'like an asylum seeker' and leave corpses at her property. The dossier prompted Nick Vineall KC, chair of the Bar Council, and Lubna Shuja, president of the Law Society, to make a rare joint statement condemning the Tories' behaviour.
'I am concerned for her personal safety,' Forde said. 'She's an excellent lawyer who is well regarded across the board. She has worked incredibly hard on Windrush... To hear her say she's scared to walk home from the railway station is appalling.' Forde added: 'My legal colleagues have expressed disappointment to me that Keir Starmer, as a lawyer, is yet to make a statement defending Jacqueline.'
The Guardian understands two other members of the shadow cabinet contacted McKenzie on the day the dossier was circulated in solidarity. Forde criticised the government's attacks on lawyers as 'a fundamental assault on the rule of law' and questioned why McKenzie, a black female lawyer, was targeted instead of white male lawyers.
