Simon Hughes told The Independent that large parts of the country regard the criminal justice system as hostile and argued it could only regain their confidence if it reflected modern Britain.
He urged young people from poorer backgrounds to be inspired by Nelson Mandela and other great lawyers to aspire to the profession and indicated they could be given financial backing to help break into a profession still dominated by white, male, Oxbridge graduates.
In his first newspaper interview since his appointment, he challenged legal firms to “proactively go out and look for people from all communities in Britain to be lawyers”.
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