Members of Parliament from a range of legal specialisms and backgrounds have been appointed to the House of Commons’ justice select committee.

The group of 11 committee members – seven from the Labour Party, two from the Conservative Party and two Liberal Democrats – broadly reflects the standings of the respective parties following the July 2024 general election. 

They take up their responsibilities at a time when the cash-starved justice system looks to have been thrown a lifeline by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves who in yesterday’s budget unveiled 5.6% and 7.5% real terms funding increases for the Ministry of Justice and Law Officers’ Department across 2024-25 and 2025-26.

The move was cautiously welcomed by the Law Society and Bar Council although both representative bodies said the crisis-hit justice system needed significantly more investment to reverse the impact of a decade of cuts.

The role of the committee is to scrutinise the policies and performance of the Ministry of Justice and associated bodies, such as the Law Officers’ Department, which finances criminal prosecutions. 

The new committee chair is Andy Slaughter, Labour MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick, who replaces Conservative Sir Bob Neill KC (Hon), who retired from parliament at the general election.

Both men are non-practising barristers. Neill was appointed honorary King’s Counsel shortly before his retirement. 

“I am delighted to be elected chair of the justice committee and look forward to working cross-party with colleagues in the months ahead,” Slaughter stated, highlighting the urgent need to address “overcrowded prisons, court backlogs, probation capacity and legal advice deserts”.

Reflecting on the appointment, previous Law Society President Nick Emmerson commented that Slaughter’s committee should examine the protracted case backlogs that “leave victims, witnesses and defendants in limbo for years”.

He also pointed out a critical exodus of professionals from the legal system, which compounds the instability of the criminal justice system, a theme which has been taken up by current president Richard Atkinson.

The new committee members bring diverse expertise and backgrounds. Labour Party members include Warinder Juss (Wolverhampton West), a former solicitor with Thompsons and trade union activist; Pam Cox, (Colchester), a sociology professor specialising in criminal justice; Linsey Farnsworth (Amber Valley), a solicitor with extensive experience in the Crown Prosecution Service; and Alex Barros-Curtis, previously Labour’s executive director of legal affairs.

The Labour contingent also includes Dover MP, Mike Tapp, an Army veteran of the Intelligence Corps before joining the National Crime Agency and later the Ministry of Defence, and Sarah Russell (Congleton), a consultant solicitor with north-west firm Fix Whitfield, specialising in labour law.  

The Conservative Party, meanwhile, is fielding Neil Shastri-Hurst (Solihull West and Shirley), a former doctor turned barrister specialising in healthcare law, and Sir Ashley Fox (Bridgwater), an insurance litigation expert with Badhams Thompson and Morgan Cole, among other firms. 

The committee also includes Josh Babarinde (Eastbourne) and Tessa Munt (Wells and Mendip Hills) of the Liberal Democrats. Munt is a former solicitor with property specialist Forsters, while Babarinde, the Liberal Democrats justice spokesperson, received an OBE for his community criminal justice work in 2020.