Black barrister was told ‘it’s not for defendants’ at London court car park

Stephen Akinsanya says being mistaken for defendant shows lack of progress on racism within legal system

A black barrister said a security guard told him he could not park in a court’s car park because “it’s not for defendants”.

Stephen Akinsanya, who in June was awarded an OBE for raising awareness of youth knife crime and its prevention, said the incident, at an east London court about four weeks ago, illustrated the lack of progress on racism within the criminal justice system.