Requires nearer scrutiny of crown prosecutors’ social media accounts | Crown Prosecution Service
Lawyers have called for closer monitoring of prosecutors’ media accounts after one of them was reprimanded for sharing Britain First posts on Facebook.
Kim Kendall, a senior lawyer with the Yorkshire and Humberside CPS and based in the organization’s Hull office, shared a petition from far-right group Britain First calling for the statue of Nelson Mandela to be demolished. It accuses Mandela of “being a communist and terrorist mass murderer” who should be “thrown in the trash can of history”.
Other posts that appeared on their timeline and referred for investigation included one originally posted by another Facebook user about the murder of soldier Lee Rigby, saying, “I don’t remember Britain rioting after Sept. black immigrants had hacked a white Briton to death. “Soldier in broad daylight … Just like that!”
Kendall shared the message at the height of the Black Lives Matter campaign.
Lawyers raising concerns about the case welcomed the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s decision to issue a formal reprimand this week after investigating the matter.
Attiq Malik, secretary of the Society of Asian Lawyers, said he and his colleagues called for greater monitoring of the social media accounts of lawyers like Kendall.
“The fact that the SRA upheld this complaint sends a strong message that is necessary to increase public confidence in the profession.”
Ash Mahmood of Drummond Solicitors, one of the attorneys who complained about Kendall’s social media posts, also welcomed the sanction on Kendall.
“Lawyers in positions of power should be held accountable for such positions. The CPS should definitely monitor these social media accounts more closely. “
The Solicitors Regulation Authority ruled that Kendall had shared inappropriate posts on her social media account that offended others and undermined trust in them and the provision of legal services, rather than encouraging equality, diversity or inclusion.
The judgment added that she had failed to act in a manner that maintained public confidence in the profession of attorney and in the legal services provided by empowered individuals and had failed to act in a manner that promoted equality, Promotes diversity and inclusion.
She was awarded a reprimand and sentenced to pay £ 600.
The CPS Guideline states that employees should ensure that any statement they make in public forums, whether in their spare time or in a private capacity, does not violate their professional duties under the CPS Code of Conduct.
A CPS spokesman said the organization had not commented on individual cases or confirmed whether or not Kendall was still employed by the CPS.
Sanctions against lawyers by the SRA for social media posts are rare, but not unprecedented. Attorney Mark Lewis was fined £ 2,500 and significant costs in 2018 for posting “offensive and profane” messages on Twitter and Facebook.
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