SoE

A human rights lawyer who succeeded in overturning the release of black cab rapist John Worboys will address delegates at the Society of Editors conference.

Harriet Wistrich – who successfully represented two victims of the serial rapist John Worboys in a recent human rights claim against the Metropolitan police – will join a panel session next month looking at the coverage of courts.

Wistrich, a solicitor at Birnberg Peirce and founder of the Centre for Women’s Justice, acted for the two victims in the landmark judicial review of the Parole Board’s decision to release Worboys in the High Court in March 2018. The news that the board had decided to release Worboys had attracted widespread criticism and extensive media coverage when it was announced earlier this year. Upon quashing the decision, the three judges ruled the Parole Board must carry out a “fresh determination” and Worboys would remain in prison pending the outcome.

Ian Murray, Executive Director of the Society of Editors said: “Harriet’s first-hand knowledge of the importance of the media in defending open justice in the UK will provide an invaluable insight into the challenges in maintaining such a role in today’s changing media industry landscape.”

Wistrich is a solicitor of twenty plus years’ experience.  She is the winner of the Liberty Human Rights Lawyer of the Year award 2014. She founded The Centre for Women’s Justice in 2016, a new multi partner organisation aimed at bringing cases holding the state to account in relation to violence against women and girls. She is also an active member of the Police Action Lawyers Group, Inquest Lawyers Group, Justice for Women and is a trustee of the charity, the Emma Humphreys Memorial Prize.

The conference, a key highlight of the media calendar, will take place on Sunday 4 and Monday 5 November in Manchester. Other panellists taking part in the ‘Coverage of our courts’ session include John Battle, Head of Compliance at ITN, Tristan Kirk, Courts Reporter at the London Evening Standard and Joy Yates, Editorial Director of Johnston Press North East. The session will be chaired by Ian Murray, Executive Director of the Society of Editors.

Booking is open for the conference and more information can be found here –
Book Now.