Shabana Mahmood: Difference between revisions

On 5 July 2024, Starmer appointed Mahmood as the [[Secretary of State for Justice]] and [[Lord Chancellor]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cross |first1=Michael |title=Shabana Mahmood appointed lord chancellor and justice secretary in Starmer cabinet |url=https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/mahmood-appointed-lord-chancellor/5120245.article#:~:text=Birmingham%20MP%20and%20former%20practising,Starmer's%20appointment%20as%20prime%20minister. |access-date=5 July 2024 |work=Law Gazette |agency=The Law Society |date=5 July 2024 |archive-date=5 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240705165559/https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/mahmood-appointed-lord-chancellor/5120245.article#:~:text=Birmingham%20MP%20and%20former%20practising,Starmer's%20appointment%20as%20prime%20minister. |url-status=live }}</ref> This made her the first Muslim and second female Lord Chancellor in history.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Obiter|date=11 July 2024 |title=Oooh. Suits you, madam |url=https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/obiter/oooh-suits-you-madam/5120286.article |access-date=2024-08-06 |website=Law Gazette |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.geo.tv/latest/554483-shabana-mahmood-sworn-in-as-uks-first-woman-muslim-lord-chancellor|title=Shabana Mahmood sworn in as UK's first woman Muslim Lord Chancellor|website=Geo News |date=16 July 2024}}</ref> Conservative Party politician [[Liz Truss]] was the first woman to hold the role, having been appointed in the [[first May ministry]] in July 2016 as the first female lord chancellor in the office's thousand-year history.<ref name="OUTBLU">{{Cite book |last1=Cole |first1=Harry |title=[[Out of the Blue: The Inside Story of the Unexpected Rise and Rapid Fall of Liz Truss]] |last2=Heale |first2=James |date=2022 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |isbn=978-0-00-860578-0 |author-link1=Harry Cole (journalist) |pages=129,132}}</ref>{{efn|Excluding [[Eleanor of Provence]], who exercised the powers of the lord chancellor in 1253 but was not formally appointed to the office.<ref name="OUTBLU">{{Cite book |last1=Cole |first1=Harry |title=[[Out of the Blue: The Inside Story of the Unexpected Rise and Rapid Fall of Liz Truss]] |last2=Heale |first2=James |date=2022 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |isbn=978-0-00-860578-0 |author-link1=Harry Cole (journalist) |pages=129,132}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Bowcott |first=Owen |date=21 July 2016 |title=Liz Truss sworn in as first ever female Lord Chancellor |url=https://www.geotheguardian.tvcom/politics/2016/jul/21/liz-truss-first-ever-female-lord-chancellor-justice-secretary |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=30 January 2017 |archive-date=13 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013231141/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jul/21/liz-truss-first-ever-female-lord-chancellor-justice-secretary |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

OnA 12week Julyafter her appointment, she announced measures intended to decrease prison overcrowding, describing the situation in prisons as a ticking "time bomb" and saying that prisons were on the "point of collapse".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Thousands of prisoners to be released early to ease overcrowding |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crg5vp0296eo |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-12 |title=Lord Chancellor sets out immediate action to defuse ticking prison 'time-bomb' |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/lord-chancellor-sets-out-immediate-action-to-defuse-ticking-prison-time-bomb |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}</ref> Under her plans, some prisoners would be released after serving 40% of their sentences in England and Wales, rather than the 50% announced previously in October 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dearden |first=Lizzie |date=2024-07-13 |title=Fears UK prisons face 'collapse' as they could be full before early release scheme begins |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/13/fears-uk-prisons-face-collapse-as-they-could-be-full-before-early-release-scheme-begins |access-date=2024-07-13 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0029-7712}}</ref> She stated that she expected that the number of prisoners to be released in September 2024 would be "in the low thousands", with further releases over the following 18 months with updates in parliament every three months.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-07-12 |title=UK to release thousands of prisoners due to overcrowding |url=https://uk.news.yahoo.com/uk-release-thousands-prisoners-due-162430219.html |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name=":0" />