Cordella Bart-Stewart: ‘Advocates assume my clerk is the judge'
The 67-year-old has been a part-time immigration and asylum tribunal judge for 25 years and is troubled by the 'woeful under-representation' of black judges in England and Wales.
While the number of female judges and those from other ethnic minorities has risen in recent years, the figure for black judges has remained at a 'resolutely stubborn' 1 per cent — compared with 4.4 per cent of the working-age population.
She is among seven black female judges on the steering committee of the UK Association of Black Judges, which launched at the Supreme Court this month to support existing black judges and lawyers looking to join the bench.
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NBC News
8 minutes ago
- NBC News
Former Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro ordered to wear an electronic ankle monitor
SAO PAULO — Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro has been ordered to wear an ankle monitor, authorities said on Friday, in a move he described as "a supreme humiliation." The development came as federal police conducted searches at his home and his party's headquarters in Brasília, in compliance with a Supreme Court order. The order prohibits Bolsonaro to leave the house at night, communicate with foreign ambassadors and diplomats or approach embassies. The former president is also barred from using social media or contacting other individuals under investigation by the Supreme Court, including his son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, a Brazilian lawmaker who currently lives in the United States and is known for his close ties to U.S. President Donald Trump. Bolsonaro is currently on trial at the Supreme Court accused of leading an alleged attempt to stage a coup to overturn the 2022 election in which he was defeated by left-wing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. "It is a supreme humiliation," Bolsonaro told journalists in Brasilia after putting on the ankle monitoring. "I never thought about leaving Brazil, I never thought about going to an embassy, but the precautionary measures are because of that." On Thursday, Trump wrote to Bolsonaro describing his ally's treatment by the Brazilian legal system as terrible and unjust. "This trial should end immediately!," the U.S. President said, adding that he "strongly voiced" his disapproval through his tariff policy. The Supreme Court's restrictions on Bolsonaro are part of a second investigation against Eduardo for allegedly working with U.S. authorities to impose sanctions against Brazilian officials. Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is also the rapporteur of the case, said that the former president and his son's recent actions were "blatant confessions of criminal conduct," such as coercion during legal proceedings, obstruction of investigations and attacks on national sovereignty. "Alexandre de Moraes doubled down," Eduardo said on X, mentioning the order to the Supreme Court justice ahead of the criminal cases against his father. His elder brother, Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, said on X: "Prohibiting a father from speaking to his own son is the greatest symbol of the hatred that has consumed Alexandre de Moraes." Live aerial footage from local broadcasters showed federal police vehicles outside Bolsonaro's residence in Brasília. Congressman Sóstenes Cavalcante, the leader of Bolsonaro's party in the lower house, told The Associated Press that officers also searched Bolsonaro's office at the party's headquarters. He described the operation as "another chapter in the persecution of conservatives and right-wing figures" in Brazil. A lawyer for Bolsonaro did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Tuesday, Brazil's Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet said in a report to the Supreme Court that the "evidence is clear: the defendant acted systematically, throughout his mandate and after his defeat at the polls, to incite insurrection and the destabilization of the democratic rule of law." Bolsonaro has described the trial on X as a "witch hunt," echoing a term used by Trump when he came to his South American ally's defense last week. Last week, Trump imposed a 50% import tax on Brazil, directly tying the tariffs to Bolsonaro's trial. The U.S. president has hosted the former Brazilian president at his Mar-a-Lago resort when both were in power in 2020. Trump compared the Brazilian's situation to his own. On Tuesday, speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump repeated the claim that the trial is a "witch hunt." A source at Brazil's Supreme Court said some justices have already made it clear among themselves that U.S. tariffs will have no effect on Bolsonaro's trial, which is expected to resume between August and September. The staffer spoke under condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
Daily Mail
10 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Crystal Palace set to launch bombshell challenge to UEFA over contact with Nottingham Forest - over alleged DOUBLE STANDARDS being applied against them
Crystal Palace are expected to demand full disclosure of what they believe are bombshell emails and texts between UEFA and Nottingham Forest – which they believe could 'prove' double standards have been applied over their European demotion. Eagles officials are of the firm view that correspondence exists between the two potentially showing that Forest, unlike Palace, were allowed to extend the March 1 deadline to comply with UEFA's rules on multi-club ownership. To widespread outrage, FA Cup winners Palace were last week demoted from the Europa League to the Europa Conference because they had not taken action to solve issues related to former major shareholder John Textor and his ownership of the French club Lyon by March 1. However, they are convinced that Forest, who have been 'promoted' from the Conference League to take their slot, were given additional time by UEFA. Mail Sport understands that Palace, who will appeal the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), will now demand UEFA hand over documents between themselves and Forest on the matter. The view would be that such documents, if they exist, should be presented to a CAS panel, and could potentially result in Palace's reinstatement to the Europa League. Eagles bosses also believe Forest have written to UEFA to express their expectation that Palace should be demoted. The development comes after it emerged that the European Club Association, which effectively runs European football with UEFA, had emailed its member sides to tell them that the March 1 deadline was not sacrosanct. In the email, the existence of which was first reported by the Telegraph, the ECA inform their clubs that UEFA would allow until May 31 for those at-risk to resolve any outstanding issues. Palace believe Hugo Hamon, Head of Finance Strategy and Operations at the ECA, advised those affected on how to set up a 'blind trust' to essentially navigate the rules. Palace say that the only communication from UEFA was sent to a generic email address, and that no reminders were provided. They are not a member of the ECA and so would not have received the additional guidance from the ECA about the deadline. While Forest are not an ECA member, Olympiakos, who are also owned by Evangelos Marinakis, are. It is also understood that UEFA sent communication around the deadline, which was brought forward for last season, to the correct email address but that it was not subsequently acted upon. In late April, beyond the original deadline, Marinakis diluted his control of Forest when it looked by both they and Olympiakos could qualify for the Champions League. As it transpired, such a move was not necessary as Forest faded to end the season in seventh. Textor's company, Eagle Football Holdings, held a 43 per cent stake in Palace, which at the time was more than any other entity. It also owns Lyon, who also qualified for the Europa League. Rules state that two clubs owned, to a certain threshold of influence, by the same person or entity cannot compete in the same competition. In this instance, because Lyon finished higher in their domestic league than Palace, they took the spot. They accused UEFA of being 'morally bankrupt' and called on them to overturn their ruling It is understood that all options, including legal action, remain on the table for Palace, who are currently digesting the written reasons for their demotion which was handed down by UEFA's Club Financial Control Body. CAS have the power to fast-track cases. The draw for the Conference League play-off round, at which stage Palace would enter, is on August 4. When Textor took his stake in Palace, he did not hold shares in any other club. He has now sold Eagle Football Holdings share in the club to US businessman Woody Johnson. Palace say he was never in a position of influence at Selhurst Park and that no intelligence was shared between Palace and any of the other clubs in the group. There is a hope that Palace chairman Steve Parish's relationship with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin may come in handy. Parish flew to UEFA HQ to meet with Ceferin during the Super League crisis when many of Europe's top clubs attempted to set up a breakaway league. Both were united on that subject and Parish has previously expressed his admiration for how Ceferin handled the situation. The Football Association has written to UEFA to outline its support for Palace's case, while a group of Liberal Democrat MPs have asked culture secretary Lisa Nandy to intervene in what they have branded a 'disgraceful' decision by UEFA. Earlier this week, hundreds of Palace supporters marched to Selhurst Park in a protest organised by ultras fan group the Holmesdale Fanatics. They called the decision 'a terrible injustice for both our club and the game of football as a whole'.
The Guardian
10 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Angela Rayner tells Labour to ‘step up' and make case for being in power
Angela Rayner has urged Labour colleagues to 'step up' and make the case for why the party should be in power as the government attempts to draw a line under a tumultuous first year in office and shift towards a more upbeat approach. The deputy prime minister urged Labour MPs to focus on the party's achievements over the last 12 months rather than always thinking about failures, adding they should all be 'message carriers' for what had been done well. But she said there were big challenges ahead, with changes in areas such as infrastructure investment and planning taking years to bear fruit. 'These things take time to lead in. That's the challenge with politics. Everybody wants something mañana. It's like, gotta have it immediately.' In an interview with the Guardian as MPs prepared to break for the summer recess, Rayner also said she was unafraid of Nigel Farage, that tough action against rebellious Labour MPs was 'justified' and that fixing the 'awful' Send system for children was an urgent priority. She added that it was a 'moral mission' for Labour to bring down child poverty, she would feel personally wounded if the government did not hit its 1.5m new homes target and that it was determined to 'break the doom loop' of low economic growth and high taxes suffered for years. However, speaking in her office in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Rayner made clear that she expected her colleagues, from Keir Starmer down, to do a better job of arguing for what they believed in. 'We all have to step up and make that case. It's the job of all of us in the wider Labour movement,' she said, citing achievements such as falling NHS waiting lists, funding increases for housing and rising wages. 'I often go to Labour fundraisers and joke that the Tories will do 4% of their manifesto, and then go on about that 4% as if they've delivered the whole lot. In our Labour movement, we'll do 96% of it, but we'll go on about the 4% that we never managed to achieve. 'It's a mindset that we have … We're always thinking about what we didn't get, as opposed to all the huge achievements that we're making. Our whole movement is message carriers. And if we're not going to talk about these huge achievements, then who is?' Labour has characterised Reform UK as its main opposition at the next election, even though it has just four MPs. Rayner said they had to be 'held to account' for making 'wild promises' to the public they would not be able to deliver on, calling Farage a 'snake oil salesman'. 'Politics can make a real difference to people's lives, but it takes time to change, to bring about that fundamental change that people are so desperate to see. That's what this Labour government is doing,' she said. 'It's not short-termism on the back of a fag packet, on some billboard. It's actually the fundamental reforms that will get Britain back on track … instead of people feeling at the moment like everything is broken and nothing can be fixed.' Rayner defended the decision to strip the Labour whip from four 'persistent' rebel MPs, even though No 10 had said it would try to improve relations with backbenchers after they forced it into a major U-turn over welfare cuts. 'I think it's justified. If you're constantly organising against your Labour government then that's a whipping issue for the chief whip, and that's as old as time,' she said. But she acknowledged the government had to find ways of giving MPs 'opportunities to air concerns' and be part of the collective decision-making process. Labour MPs are concerned that ministers will approach plans for children's special educational needs and disabilities (Send) in the same way as they did changes to welfare, which were presented as a cost-saving move. But Rayner, who has two children who have been through the Send process, said the system was 'awful' for parents and had to be fixed, adding that she knew the government needed to bring families, schools, and MPs with them on the difficult path to reform. Her own department has an additional interest because councils, which provide much of the support, were granted two further years until March 2028 to keep Send deficits off their books, giving them a strict deadline. 'Can we do it in the time? We have to, because so many young people are being let down at the moment, because the system is not catching people's needs early on. That system is awful for parents. 'I was in the system for a long time … Parents who are trapped in it are constantly, for years, fighting to get their child support that they need. We've got to fix this. Often we're spending huge sums of money and we're still not delivering the outcomes for those young people.' Labour MPs are also desperate for the government to deliver on its pledge to tackle child poverty, with Starmer understood to be keen to lift the two-child benefit cap if affordable, although that has been made harder because of the welfare U-turn. Rayner said it was a 'moral mission' and 'absolutely critical' for a Labour government to bring down child poverty but, despite experts suggesting scrapping the cap would be the most cost-effective way to do so, she added there was 'no single lever' to address problem. She has announced a near doubling of government spending on affordable housing in England, up to £40bn of grants over 10 years, and bringing its target to build 1.5m new homes by 2029 closer. She said she would feel wounded if the target was not hit, even though experts say it will be extremely difficult. 'I would be wounded, even though it is a real stretch target. Everyone says it's really difficult to get there, but I'm determined to,' she said. Just months after Rayner urged Rachel Reeves to consider a series of wealth tax rises, underscoring unease over the chancellor's tight spending plans, she said the country needed to get out of the 'doom loop' of low growth and high taxes it had seen under the Tories. While she refused to be drawn on whether it was inevitable that taxes would have to rise this autumn, when asked about her leaked memo to the chancellor, she said the country 'can't continue' as it is. 'I think we will get there. But we can't continue on this doom loop of, you know, low, low growth and high taxes, we have to find a way through this,' she added, highlighting capital investment and trade deals which both supported the economy. 'That's how you grow the economy in the long run, and where people feel better off as a result of it. That's the turnaround that we're doing that the previous government didn't do, and why we've been in this constant doom loop.' Before Donald Trump's second state visit to the UK this autumn Rayner, who had previously called the US president 'a buffoon' who had 'no place in the White House', said she respected the mandate of elected politicians but was prepared to 'challenge respectfully'. And just a week after Unite the trade union voted to suspend her membership and rethink its ties with the Labour party over the Birmingham bin strikes, Rayner said that while she was proud of her own trade union roots she answered to working people and her constituents. 'That's my test. Not what a general secretary says.'
