Culture Society, Identity and Belonging
A leading criminal barrister, Jo Sidhu KC, has been disbarred by the UK’s Bar Standards Board after a disciplinary hearing found him guilty of sexual misconduct towards a young colleague.
The former chair of the Criminal Bar Association was originally charged with 15 counts of misconduct.
Five were struck out on the basis he had no case to answer but Sidhu was found to have breached the Bar’s professional standards on three of the remaining charges after having invited an aspiring young lawyer to stay overnight in his hotel room.
The Bar Standards Board argued that any punishment short of disbarment would “send a signal that this type of misconduct would be consistent with a continued career at the Bar… and that victims of sexual misconduct are not protected.”
Sidhu’s barrister submitted that he had undertaken over 80 hours of psychotherapy and had already voluntarily relinquished “all his positions”.
After deliberating, a panel voted three to two in favour of banning Sidhu from practising as a barrister again.
