The attorney general wants to scrap Whitehall diversity training. It could mean a host of new lawsuits that the government would lose
• Robin Moira White is a discrimination lawyer
Normal conventions don’t apply in this government operating under Boris Johnson’s rules. Suella Braverman is a case in point: the attorney general for England and Wales has become known for her bizarre rants and odd stances. Her latest move is endorsing Liz Truss’s campaign pledge to remove diversity advisers from government departments. Braverman’s motivation is undoubtedly pandering to the Tory party membership and fanning the flames of a culture war. As a discrimination barrister, I know how reckless and dangerous scrapping diversity advisers would be.
When I bring cases for claimants, the first question I ask managers is: what equality training have you had? When the answer is “none”, managers are immediately put on the back foot in a tribunal. They may never recover. A lack of diversity training can have dire legal consequences. An employer accused of a random and unpredictable act of discrimination can argue that they took the “reasonable steps” to prevent such action. But unless the employer has clear anti-discrimination policies in place and has provided relevant training, this defence is unlikely to succeed.
Robin Moira White is a discrimination barrister at Old Square Chambers
