No.8 Chambers is proud of its longstanding commitment to diversity and equality of opportunity in terms of its membership, its recruitment, and the provision of services to professional and lay clients alike. Black Lives Matter because the lives of every citizen matters regardless of their ethnicity, their gender, their sexuality, their religious beliefs, or their socio-economic background. We recognise however that particularly for many black and ethnic minority members of our community, racism and discrimination continues to pervade every aspect of their lives, including their experience of our justice system.

We condemn the events that led to the death of George Floyd. We acknowledge that there have been instances of police brutality in the United Kingdom. We condemn wherever it exists, the institutional racism that breeds, nurtures and all too often seeks to excuse such behaviour on the part of those charged with the protection of individual citizens and their rights. We recognise that the experience of the black and ethnic minority citizens of the United Kingdom, just like those of the United States, and of other jurisdictions throughout the world, is an experience that includes entrenched and systemic inequality and the effects of longstanding institutionalised racism.

We are committed to continue to strive to address all forms of discrimination in our professional lives. We will always ‘call out’ racism each time that we see it.

We will endeavour to continue to fight for equality and justice for everyone in all that we do.