Barrister Andy Slaughter has been appointed chair of the Justice Committee, the House of Commons select committee which scrutinises Ministry of Justice policies and spending, including the courts and legal aid
The MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick has previously served as shadow solicitor general and as the shadow justice minister opposing LASPO (the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012). Before entering the Commons in 2005, he specialised in personal injury and housing law at Bridewell Chambers.
Slaughter said: ‘Significant parts of the justice system are in crisis.’
Other lawyers include Alex Barros-Curtis, previously the Labour Party’s executive director of legal affairs, solicitors Linsey Farnsworth, Sir Ashley Fox, Warinder Juss and Sarah Russell, and army doctor-turned barrister Neil Shastri-Hurst.
Previous chair Sir Bob Neill KC did not seek re-election to Parliament.
