Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws: Lord Speaker's Corner

05/18/23 • 44 min

House of Lords Podcast: Lord Speaker's Corner

Watch leading human rights lawyer, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, discuss human rights, social media and access to justice with Lord McFall of Alcluith in the latest episode of Lord Speaker's Corner.

'I was challenging the state, and often taking on the state, because of abuses by arms of the state, by police, by immigration authorities... And that is the purpose of law. That is what the rule of law is all about.'

In this new episode, campaigning barrister Helena Kennedy KC talks about her early career, plus work on international cases of human rights abuses, such as the mistreatment of Uighurs, Russia’s kidnap of Ukrainian children and the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. She also explains her work in the House of Lords to contribute to and improve the law.

Find out more about the series, including a longer podcast version of the interview https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2023/february-2023/lord-speakers-corner/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Watch leading human rights lawyer, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, discuss human rights, social media and access to justice with Lord McFall of Alcluith in the latest episode of Lord Speaker's Corner.

Find out more about the series, including a longer podcast version of the interview https://www.parliament.uk/business/news/2023/february-2023/lord-speakers-corner/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

AI weapons, the future of food production, and tackling homelessness

This month we speak to chairs of two new Lords committees looking into the use of artificial intelligence in weapons systems and the future of the horticultural sector. Plus, Lord Bird discusses his upbringing and how he campaigns in the House of Lords for a new way to deal with the problem of poverty.

‘There are things that we wish we'd never invented like nuclear weapons, like landmines, but they've been invented... autonomous weapons systems are potentially threatening, but also a big challenge in terms of international agreement and regulation.’

First up, we speak to Lord Lisvane, Chair of the AI in Weapons Systems Committee, about the effect of digital technologies on defence and the ethics of using automated weapons systems.

'It’s hundreds of thousands of jobs, it’s billions in turnover. It’s a really important sector but the problem of course as a sector is because it's so wide, there's no one overarching body that says this is important.’

Then we speak to Lord Redesdale, Chair of the Horticultural Sector Committee, about the future of food production and the impact of climate change on the industry.

‘I came into the House of Lords to dismantle poverty.’

We also hear from crossbench member, Lord Bird, about his work to tackle homelessness and bring about social change.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Baroness Butler-Sloss | Lord Speaker's Corner

Baroness Butler-Sloss, the highest-ranking female judge in England and Wales as President of the High Court’s Family Division from 1999-2005, speaks to Lord McFall of Alcluith about her career and warns of moving away from parliamentary scrutiny in draft laws before the House.

‘There’s been a creep, a distinct creep, in the last 10 - and possibly mainly the last five - years to move away from parliamentary scrutiny. It’s not just the Lords, it’s parliamentary scrutiny. I remember talking to a Conservative MP and saying: “Are you noticing the extent to which you are not now being asked to make the decisions?”’

Baroness Butler-Sloss also speaks about her long legal career, her success in breaking through the ‘glass ceiling’ holding back women lawyers, her report on the Cleveland child abuse scandal and representation of different faith groups in the Lords.