Really sad to hear about the death of Lord Lester.
A real pioneer and giant of human rights law in this country.
His private member's bills eventually became the Human Rights Act, and he played a major role in the development of the Sex Discrimination Act & Race Relations Act.
A real pioneer and giant of human rights law in this country.
His private member's bills eventually became the Human Rights Act, and he played a major role in the development of the Sex Discrimination Act & Race Relations Act.
"Lester liked to recall that in 1960s he had a simple test for discrimination. He would reply to job ad with two identical applications from imaginary people: one called Singh, the other Smith. Singh was rarely offered an interview. 50 years later, he doubted much had changed".
"On one occasion, he told Lord Diplock why, despite inconvenience to his lordship, it was appropriate for legal argument to be heard before his client was executed rather than afterwards. He was banned from practising in Singapore because of his “combative & truculent” nature".
Lord Lester: “There has to be some protection for when parliament misuses its powers. If parliament were to say, ‘All Jews should be exterminated’, the supremacy of parliament suggests, ‘That’s fine. There’s nothing you can do about it’.”
thetimes.co.uk/article/lord-l…
thetimes.co.uk/article/lord-l…
There will be time later to remember more of his contributions to the development of law and human rights in this country.
For now, condolences to @mayaejlester, @gidlifecrisis and the rest of Anthony's family and friends.
For now, condolences to @mayaejlester, @gidlifecrisis and the rest of Anthony's family and friends.
