David Lammy’s new “Judicial and Legal Diversity Board” to increase ethnic minority representation in the judiciary has had one meeting and has already spawned an entire ecosystem of sub-committees, working groups and “task and finish” units. A peek behind the Civil Service curtain…
Guido’s FOI Unit has uncovered documents revealing the extent of bureaucratic sprawl:
Nine bodies, each of which draws “organisational resource” out of the MoJ, the judiciary, Judicial Appointments Commission, Bar Council, Law Society, CILEx, the Legal Services Board, and the CPS. The main Board meets for just 90 minutes twice a year. The sub-groups will file reports in September and December 2026 that will inform the creation of other groups. At the first meeting of the main board David Lammy said it was crucial that he was the first black Lord Chancellor, which indicates “the symbolic importance of leadership”…
The MoJ under Lammy has launched a new strategy to increase representation – which is already over the national average in some respects – by hiring without CVs and forcing non-white people onto appointment commissions. Is he in a rush?
UPDATE: Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy tells Guido:
“David Lammy is campaigning for appointments to be based on skin colour or sex rather than merit, yet the law says judges should be chosen for merit alone. Responding to my letter, he could not explain how his new public appointments strategy is lawful, and refused to disclose his legal advice – what does he have to hide?
There was no Equality Impact Assessment for it, and the Equality & Human Rights Commission have not replied to my request to disclose any advice provided. And the new judicial appointments chair told Parliament she doesn’t believe in appointing on merit alone. This is extreme DEI madness – and it may be against the law.”
Badenoch said at her speech on Monday morning: “We are absolutely ready to fight a general election. We saw the results in Aberdeen South: 50% of the vote. Because we can unite the country… It’s about uniting the country, for God’s sake, behind a centre-right agenda.”