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The Colour of Justice

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BBC Radio 4 - The Colour of Justice

Edward Adoo investigates why there are so few non-white judges in the UK judiciary.

Twenty years after a government report criticised the UK judiciary for the lack of non-white judges, Edward Adoo investigates why so little has changed.

Twenty years after a Government report criticised the UK judiciary for the lack of non-white judges, Edward Adoo investigates why so little has changed.

A recent Department of Justice review showed that ethnic minority groups make up only 11% of magistrates and 7% of judges. It also acknowledged that people from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds make up 25% of the England and Wales prison population and 41% of the youth justice system - but only 14% of the general population. This suggests there is a wide ethnicity gap between those incarcerated and those who sentence them.

Broadcaster Edward Adoo grew up in the shadow of his grandfather Julius Sarkodee-Adoo, a former Chief Justice of Ghana who was also a prolific writer on post-independence law. He is widely acknowledged as one the most important and influential judicial figures in post-colonial African history. Like many Africans of his generation, he received his training in London, studying law at King’s College before being called to the Bar in 1932. His ethnic background was no barrier to his career 80 years ago – nowadays the figures suggest it’s a little harder.

Presenter: Edward Adoo
Producer: Simon Jarvis
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