This week saw the launch of our new Mitre Lectures, a dynamic series of talks featuring high-profile external speakers, designed to engage students with big ideas each half term.
For our first talk on Tuesday, we welcomed special guest Sultana Tafadar, the first hijab-wearing criminal barrister in Britain to be appointed King’s Counsel (KC). An award-winning barrister, Sultana’s expertise spans counter-terrorism and national security, criminal justice, human rights, public law, and public international law. She has also launched Girls Human Rights Hub, an international organisation to inform and empower girls across the world on their rights.
During the packed-out lecture, Sultana discussed the historical development of counter-terrorism through the three distinct phases seen this century: from the rise of Al-Qaeda and its associates around the turn of the millennium to the influence of the so-called Islamic State and the more recent threat posed by far-right extremist groups.
Drawing on her extensive work as one of the world’s leading counter-terrorism barristers, she posed challenging ethical and political questions over the extent to which terror suspects can receive a fair trial when governments’ evidence is often kept secret, as well as reflecting on her own experiences of witnessing racial discrimination in the court system and her charitable work expanding legal rights overseas.
Despite, or perhaps because of, the heavy subject matter, the Trinity students were extremely engaged throughout, and Upper Sixth Former Maya chaired a lively Q&A that included questions from students in three different year groups, including last year’s Middle School TEA winner, Naku Debebe.
Academic scholar Naku says, “The Mitre Lecture was both a highly informative and enjoyable experience. The talk by Ms Sultana Tafadar fascinated me as her consistent uses of case studies to illustrate the effects of real terrorist groups like ISIS helped me to understand both the terrorist strategies used to target the vulnerable as well as the ingenuity of security services to catch those planning domestic attacks. Furthermore, both legal jargon (like Sections 2 and 5, both relating to illegal distribution of terrorist-related materials and planning of terrorist attacks respectively) and sensitive issues (like the dangers of searching up suicide bombing on the internet) were conveyed with both care and knowledge, giving me a practical application for what I heard.
“In the Q&A, I asked what she would recommend to young people like us with big dreams to see our ambitions fulfilled. She responded that I should work hard and put in maximum effort on everything, extend outside the curriculum and most importantly, network for as she said: ‘You never know who might be able to open a door for you, like I did for people I knew from college’. Overall, the Mitre Lecture was a highlight of my year so far, and I look forward to more talks in the very near future!”
Upper Sixth student Lucy agrees, “The lecture offered incredible insight into the world of criminal law. Sultana’s use of past cases to describe the complexities of counter-terrorism law encouraged me to consider the true nuance of what is sufficient evidence for prosecution, and how her experience of cases has evolved with the changing prominent form of terrorism.
“Her powerful reflection upon the flaws of the legal system and her evident passion for upholding the right to a fair trial not only deepened my understanding of the role of barrister but reminded me of my own enthusiasm for using legal argument as a force for good.”
Sultana finished by giving tips to the aspiring lawyers in the audience and revealing that, despite the significant psychological strain of her professional work, she still manages to relax each evening in the company of two friendly and fluffy cats.
With thanks to Sixth Form students Zoe and Maya for chairing the talk (pictured).
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The next talk in the Mitre Lecture series is on Tuesday 26 November (4.15-5.15pm). We will welcome Sathnam Sanghera, British journalist (Financial Times, The Times) and Sunday Times bestselling author, who will be sharing insights from his book ‘Empireworld: How British imperialism has shaped the globe’.
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