The Chair of the independent review of bullying and harassment at the Bar is the Rt Hon Harriet Harman KC – former MP, Solicitor General, Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Right and Chair of Committees on Standards and Privileges in Parliament. She is supported by the review team (Samantha Granger and Tom Pollard) and a reference group.

About the Chair of the review

Harriet Harman (pictured above) qualified as a solicitor in 1973. Her first job was at Brent Community Law Centre and she then moved to the role of Legal Officer at the National Council for Civil Liberties (now Liberty) taking the first cases under the Sex Discrimination and Equal Pay Acts.

In 1982 she was elected to parliament to represent the diverse inner-city constituency of Camberwell and Peckham. Joining a House of Commons which was 97 per cent male, she has been politics’ most prominent champion for women’s rights, in a parliamentary career which spanned more than four decades.  

During the Labour Government from 1997 to 2010 she served in a number of ministerial roles including as Solicitor General and Minister for Justice. As Secretary of State for Women and Equality she introduced the 2010 Equality Act.

On returning to the backbenches in 2015, Harriet became chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights. In 2017, as the longest serving woman MP, Harriet became the Mother of the House of Commons.

In 2022 she took up the chair of the House of Commons Standards Committee and of the Privileges Committee which conducted the inquiry which found that the Prime Minister Boris Johnson misled Parliament.

In 2024, the Standards Committee reported to the House of Commons on the standards landscape following an inquiry into how MPs standards and conduct are regulated.

She is currently Chair of The Fawcett Society, the UK's leading charity campaigning for women's rights.

About the review team

The Chair is supported by Samantha Granger (barrister at the House of Commons) and Tom Pollard.  

Contact the review team via [email protected]

About the reference group

The review team is supported by a reference group drawn from members of the Bar Council’s committees and individuals with expertise in reviews and inquiries looking into workplace behaviours.

The purpose of the reference group is to provide advice to both the Bar Council and the review.

Members of the reference group 
  • Elaine Banton, Co-Chair of the Bar Council Equality Diversity & Social Mobility Committee
  • Lucy Burrows, Institute of Barristers’ Clerks
  • Dame Laura Cox DBE, Former High Court Judge and Member of the Independent Inquiry into the Bullying and Harassment of House of Commons Staff
  • Rachel Crasnow KC, Co-Chair of the Bar Council Equality Diversity & Social Mobility Committee
  • Esther Gamble, member of the Bar Council Retention Panel
  • Michael Harwood, former Chair of the Young Bar (2023)
  • Stephen Hockman KC, former Chair of the Bar (2006) and former Treasurer of Middle Temple (2015)
  • Robin James, Clerk of Standards and Privileges, House of Commons
  • Michael Maguire, Lay Member Judicial Conduct Investigations Office – Disciplinary Panel
  • Dee Masters, Chair of the Bar Council Retention Panel
  • Eleena Misra KC, Chair of the Bar Council Law Reform Committee
  • Jason Pitter KC, leader of the North Eastern Circuit
  • Jemma Tagg, Legal Practice Managers Association

The Bar Council may invite additional members to join the reference group, based on their expertise, during the review.