A Southport attack survivor, a prominent campaigner in the DES pregnancy drug scandal crusade, and two leading legal figures took centre stage at the second annual Journey to Justice summit in Liverpool.
The audience at Liverpool Town Hall heard yoga teacher Leanne Lucas describe how she has turned trauma from the Southport attack into action to reduce knife harm and save lives through her Let’s Be Blunt campaign.
Let’s Be Blunt promotes the adoption of kitchen knives with rounded ends instead of pointed tips.
Suzanne Massey, a campaigner with DES Justice UK, spoke about her experiences and called for a public inquiry to establish the truth about the DES drug and its long-term impact.
In a fireside chat, Baroness Hale of Richmond – a former president of the Supreme Court – and Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, a House of Lords Member and former shadow attorney general, discussed the justice system and how it could be improved.
The event was hosted by Liverpool law firm Broudie Jackson Canter in partnership with cross-party law reform charity JUSTICE.
It attracted 200 campaigners, legal professionals, political leaders and community representatives from across the region.
Broudie Jackson Canter, which is part of the Jackson Lees Group, is the longest-standing law firm member of JUSTICE, having joined in 1963.
The event, titled ‘Journey to Justice: The Long and Winding Road’, focused on concerns about access to justice, delays in the system and efforts to strengthen the rule of law and achieve reform.
Esther Leach, managing director of Jackson Lees Group, said: “It was a truly fantastic and inspiring evening filled with speakers who delivered powerful insights.
“It was an honour for us, together with JUSTICE North, to share that space with them. I’m so proud of our collective commitment to fighting for justice in all its forms.
“Having so many amazing people gathered to celebrate and acknowledge that commitment made the evening feel genuinely special.
“We are hugely grateful to all the speakers and everyone who helped bring the event together, as well as to each person who attended.
“It was uplifting to be part of such a positive atmosphere, and so encouraging to be reminded that there are still so many of us who care deeply about our fellow human beings.”
Baroness Hale said the current criminal justice system is ‘extremely slow, expensive and often inefficient’.
Turning to jury trials, she described them as the ‘gold standard’, designed so that innocent people are not wrongly convicted.
However, she suggested it could be an option for minor cases to be heard in an intermediate court with a judge and two lay members, to improve speed and efficiency while maintaining public confidence.
Baroness Chakrabarti said the jury system gives ordinary people the chance to play their part in the justice system as jurors. It protects judicial independence, and acts as a safeguard against unjust laws, she added.
Speaking at the start of the event, Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, told the audience: “Liverpool is a city with a strong sense of fairness. We know what it means when communities have to fight for truth.
“Decisions are made too far away by people who are remote from the realities that people face every day.”
Fiona Rutherford, chief executive of JUSTICE, also addressed the audience, saying: “Liverpool knows only too well what it looks like when truth is resisted, when institutions close ranks and when accountability is delayed for years.
“It knows what persistence, collective action and careful legal work can achieve when communities refuse to accept that as the end of the story.”
Elkan Abrahamson, head of major inquiries at Broudie Jackson Canter, praised the courage of people affected by tragedies who go on to campaign for change.
The event also marked the official launch of the first JUSTICE North report, which said justice devolution in the region has stalled and urged more local decision-making to accelerate reform.
The new JUSTICE North division is based in Broudie Jackson Canter’s offices in Walker House, Exchange Flags.
Broudie Jackson Canter is a leading inquests and inquiries law firm, having represented families at the Hillsborough inquests, the Birmingham pub bombings inquests, the Covid-19 inquiry, the Manchester Arena inquiry and the Southport inquiry. The firm is now supporting DES Justice UK campaigners in their fight for awareness, accountability, screening and compensation, and has been instrumental in shaping the Hillsborough Law, also known as the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.
Jackson Lees Group is part of MAPD Group, which was founded by Brian Cullen and Joanna Kingston-Davies in 2020 to power the growth of local law firms nationally through acquisition. The initials stand for Making a Positive Difference.