Sidhu: Three charges upheld
The case of former Criminal Bar Association chair Jo Sidhu KC – who was disbarred yesterday – “exposes the failure of the current systems to effectively prevent sexual misconduct at the Bar”, Harriet Harman KC said yesterday.
In December, a Bar disciplinary tribunal upheld three charges against Mr Sidhu over his behaviour towards a young woman shadowing him as part of a mini-pupillage, and yesterday it announced the sanction.
He had invited the student to stay overnight in his hotel bed and initiated sexual contact, unwanted conduct found to be inappropriate.
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) originally laid 28 charges in relation to three women and the full decision will be published in the coming week or months – it has a very spotty record on this – although he now has 21 days to appeal.
Ms Harman, a former deputy leader of the Labour party and cabinet minister, was appointed last June as chair of the Bar Council’s independent review of bullying and harassment, including sexual harassment, at the Bar.
In a statement, she said: “Jo Sidhu KC was at the top of the barrister’s profession and used that power to perpetrate abuse. He inflicted serious harm on an aspiring young barrister and his actions have cast a shadow on the reputation of the profession.”
The current system “is stacked against victims of misconduct”, Ms Harman continued, noting how formal complaints about Mr Sidhu were only made because of the “diligence” of the Bar Council’s equality and diversity team, which noted a number of reports about his behaviour. The Bar Council then supported the complainants to report him to the regulator.
Even then, she pointed out, the case took over two years from then for it to reach the sanctions hearing.
“This case starkly exposes the failure of the current systems to effectively prevent sexual misconduct at the Bar – the jeopardy for young aspiring barristers, the impunity for those in positions of power, and the failure of the existing mechanisms to ensure timely investigations and prosecutions of such misconduct.”
Ms Harman pledged to “draw on the lessons of this awful case to ensure young women at the Bar are protected from predatory men”.
A BSB spokesman said: “We are grateful to those individuals that made a report and gave evidence, without which the BSB could not have brought proceedings. The BSB recognises how hard it can be to come forward.
“Conduct of this nature has no place in the profession and the public should not expect this from members of the Bar and this is reflected in the decision of the tribunal to disbar Mr Sidhu.”
He encouraged anybody who has experienced similar behaviour by barristers to report them to the BSB, a call echoed by Bar Council chair Barbara Mills KC.
While her predecessor, Sam Townend KC, explicitly condemned Mr Sidhu’s actions after the December hearing, Ms Mills did not.
“Inappropriate behaviour, bullying, and sexual harassment will not be tolerated at the Bar and there can be very serious consequences for anyone found to have acted in such a way,” she said.
“I recognise how difficult it is for complainants to come forward, especially to report sexual misconduct. But I hope the Bar has confidence that reports will be taken seriously, and that support is available.”
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