Abimbola Johnson

25 Bedford Row

Criminal barrister Abimbola Johnson has spent the past decade defending those beset by social injustice and inequality. In her new role, the 25 Bedford Row junior will go one step further.

Selected by the National Police Chiefs Council last August, Johnson chairs the independent board overseeing and scrutinising police action on race and inclusion. She and six soon-to-be-recruited board members face the daunting task of addressing the historical disparities and confidence gap between Black people and the police.

Shortly after taking on the four-year role, Johnson began engaging with communities to ensure the board is held accountable by a range of Black voices.

Beyond this, Johnson continues to channel her self-aware millennial desire to publicly overshare into vocalising her experiences as a Black woman at the Bar. From speaking at conferences to writing op-eds for The Guardian, she has challenged those in traditional professions to abandon entrenched speak-when-spoken-to attitudes and instead have difficult conversations around diversity.

When she is not tweeting about social justice, Johnson is penning analysis pieces for the Criminal Law Review as an editorial board member. Looking ahead to April, when her maternity leave ends, Johnson hopes to veer more into public and judicial review work in order to build a practice which allows her to hold systems accountable.