Responding to the criticism directed at leading immigration lawyer Jacqueline McKenzie, Black Equity Organisation Chief Executive Dr Wanda Wyporska said:
“The attack on respected Black lawyer Jacqueline McKenzie, a legal expert with decades of experience in asylum and immigration law, will send a chill down the spine of minority communities, especially as the attacks came from such a high level.
“Black and Brown people already feel that their aspirations and rights are being frustrated and ignored. The Windrush scandal is a terrifying example of how a community denied a voice can be targeted and criminalised by the state that should be protecting them.
“A truly healthy society should be lionising lawyers such as Jacqueline McKenzie, not undermining them. Without lawyers, campaigners, activists and communities prepared to hold power to account, the country as a whole will suffer.
“Vilifying a Black lawyer for representing the ignored, the vulnerable and the weak, which seems to have resulted in exposing her to threat of verbal and physical violence, is a low that cannot be allowed to become the norm.
“Black Equity Organisation is proud that the legal profession has reacted strongly to the shameless attack on a respected Black lawyer for simply doing her job, and will stand by her and others advocating for the voiceless.”
