The Power In The People

Michael Mansfield is the greatest civil liberties lawyer this country has ever produced. He charts many of his cases in this extraordinary book. A titanic lawyer, a brilliant history of struggle for justice. What a legacy – Baroness HELENA KENNEDY of the Shaws KCMichael Mansfield’s work has often given the law undeserved distinction. In a remarkable career, he has given power to the voiceless, the innocents of a justice system corrupted by political miscarriage: from the miners to the Birmingham Six to the Hillsborough families: they who stand and fight and are the heroes of our society. For this, he too is a hero. – JOHN PILGERMichael Mansfield combines rare humanity with a brilliant understanding of the law. Reading this book one realises the exceptional talent he was prepared to devote to the needs of those seeking his legal skills, whatever their status. – Jon Snow

This is a book of great importance. It asks a simple but profound question: how can the law and legal process fulfil our demand for natural justice? Michael Mansfield examines notorious miscarriages of justice and the tenacity of those who fought to reverse them. Then he describes the long struggles to demand truth and accountability from those in power. The trials, the campaigns, and particularly the Public Enquiries are recorded here with the authority of someone who was a leading figure in most of them.What emerges is the necessity of struggle, and the strength, courage and determination it demands. Those in power resist being held responsible for their failures. How long did the victims of Bloody Sunday wait for justice? Or the families of those who died in Hillsborough? Or the Birmingham 6, Guildford 4, and so many others, including the survivors of the Grenfell fire?It is clear that the rule of law is only sufficient if the law will give us justice. This is a class issue. Those with wealth and property have their interests better served than the ordinary citizen.Mr Mansfield has spent a lifetime at the forefront of this struggle, and is considered by many to be the outstanding barrister of his generation. His thoughtful reflections on these questions demand our attention. This book is a challenge, certainly, but also an act of solidarity.

– Ken LoachPart-memoir, part-manifesto, The Power in the People, by one of our finest and most outspoken lawyers, should be read by anyone concerned about our justice system, our wilting democracy - and the planet. From his involvement in cases like the Birmingham Six and the Mangrove Nine, through those of Stephen Lawrence, Hillsborough and Grenfell, Mansfield has seen the world at its worst - and its best - and argues that we can learn much from the campaigns that fought against injustices and against the odds. An impressive and inspiring read. – Duncan Campbell

MICHAEL MANSFIELD, KC, was called to the bar in 1967 and became Queens Counsel in 1989. Passionate about civil liberties and overturning miscarriages of justice he represented clients from the Birmingham 6, the Guildford 4 and the Tottenham 3. He has fought for the Orgreave miners and for the families of victims of Bloody Sunday, Hillsborough, the Marchioness, Lockerbie and Grenfell, as well as for the parents of Stephen Lawrence.

Following the tragic death of his daughter by suicide in 2015, he and his wife, Yvette, set up the charity SOS to campaign for the provision of mental health support and suicide awareness.

He has published several books including his autobiography, Memoirs of a Radical Lawyer (Bloomsbury, 2009).

In 2017 Michael celebrated 50 years at the bar, but shows no sign of retiring, in fact he recently launched a podcast Two Heads with fellow barrister Lorna Hackett.

He lives with Yvette near Stratford On Avon, Warwickshire.