Shabana Mahmood, the new justice secretary, was sworn in as the new lord chancellor at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Monday.
The former barrister, who is the second woman after Liz Truss to hold these positions, said she will be a champion of the Rule of Law. "Today I was honoured to be sworn in as Lord Chancellor, promising to defend our independent judiciary from interference and undue pressure. 900 years into this ancient role, it is more vital than ever before," Mahmood wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
She made her oath in the presence of the lady chief justice and other senior judges, the attorney general, the solicitor general and leading members of the legal professions.
Hailing from Small Heath, Birmingham, Mahmood has made history as the first Muslim woman to hold the position. She took her oath of allegiance on the Holy Quran and noted that she is "the first lord chancellor to speak Urdu."
"There once was a little girl in Small Heath, one of the poorest areas of Birmingham, who worked behind the till in her parents’ corner shop. Yes, she took great inspiration from Kavanagh QC, that brilliant barrister with working-class roots. But she never dared to dream she would be sitting before you all today," Mahmood said in her speech.
"So believe me, I know: along with some fairly idiosyncratic outfits, comes great responsibility. I hold this office in the very highest regard. I do so not just as a former barrister, but as the child of immigrants. My parents weren’t steeped in Magna Carta, Habeas Corpus and the Bill of Rights – as I would one day be," she said.
Mahmood on Friday outlined emergency plans to relieve prison overcrowding, clearing the way for the early release of thousands of prisoners to ensure the beleaguered system continues to function.
Shabana Mahmood, who took over after the left-leaning Labour Party's election victory earlier this month, argued that the situation had become so dire that there was only one way to "avert disaster". The temporary fix includes reducing the amount of time a prisoner must serve before being automatically released.
During her speech, Mahmood also said that she and this government will be defending the international rule of law and human rights.
Kamal Pankhania
