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The impact of staying silent is not only you doing a disservice to those around you, to those who you are
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leading or representing, um, is that actually, you know, I remember years ago coming across a badge
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that, you know, and I think it was from Act Up, um, the activist body that was, um,
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campaigning for AIDS awareness and so forth. And it said, you know, silence equals death. Um, and, you know, there
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have been many instances and times throughout our history where people have remained silent,
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um, for a number of reasons. But I think for me, and, you know, when I came out very
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publicly, um, you know, countering the government of the day around lefty lawyers and so
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forth, for me it was absolutely right that I did that, um, in front of the grand staircase at
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the Law Society, you know, um, that the president should take leadership on that
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because one of the reasons for that was that lawyers, solicitors were being targeted.
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They were being attacked. Um, individuals were going around parts of, uh, London posting individuals'
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addresses, names, phone numbers, you know, on on lamp posts and and so forth. Other individuals had gone into a law
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firm and attacked lawyers. Um, you know, and there were, you know, I was in a a ferry going across to the Isle of Wight
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and I got a telephone call from a senior partner because of, uh, a package that had been received in the post and the
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police had subsequently become involved. All of those things. Individuals were being put at risk,
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um, and there was a way that points could be made without putting individuals at
00:01:56
risk. And of course we saw that again um, a few years ago, a few summers ago with the riots, the summer riots where
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immigration lawyers were being specifically targeted. But I was asked last year or
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the year before before I received my CBE that same question about remaining silent.
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And I said, you know, they said you sit there with no position or title. Do you think if you had perhaps not been as
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vocal, you might have a position and title? And I said, absolutely. I'm very clear
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that that perhaps has weighed against me. But I'm also clear that in the still of the night when I'm lying there
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you know, and it's just me, my conscious conscience is clear. And I remain steadfast to that.
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>> Wow, that's quite compelling let's say feedback from somebody, but it's very grounded I think in who you are as
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a person to be looking at the impact that you have on others over titles and anything else that might kind of come
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along with that. That's quite something I think. >> Thank you. >> [music]