'Justice is colour-blind'

Why is John Hurlock, a black barrister, now representing Neil Acourt, one of the men accused of murdering Stephen Lawrence? For him, it's not a question of race, he tells Robert Verkaik

There can be few people in Britain who have any doubt that the men accused of murdering Stephen Lawrence did commit the crime. This national conviction is partly based on tabloid newspaper campaigns aimed at sweeping away the legal safeguards of our criminal justice system which stand between the Lawrence suspects and life imprisonment.

John Hurlock is a formidable barrier to this kind of lynch-mob justice. He is acting for Neil Acourt, one of the men accused, then acquitted, of murdering the black 18-year-old in 1993. This month he will make pleas in mitigation for Acourt when he will be sentenced for racially abusing a police officer.

Hurlock is a riddle for the tabloid press because he is a black barrister acting for a racist linked to one of the most appallingly racist crimes to have ever taken place in Britain. At least one newspaper has hinted that Hurlock's skin colour was the reason Acourt asked the barrister to represent him. In this way Hurlock, who is a seasoned advocate with an excellent track record in big criminal cases, has also become the victim of racism.

But Hurlock says his decision to represent Acourt is based on one of the oldest tenets of English law, that everyone must be presumed innocent until proved otherwise.

"If that is the starting place, says Hurlock, "then you have to decide upon what basis do you refuse to represent someone. As long as there is an issue to be tried then I will defend anyone. In the end, guilt is a matter which is going to be dealt with by a judge and jury."

Barristers in England and Wales must take the first case which comes along, irrespective of their personal feelings about the defendant. That he is a black barrister representing a white man accused of racism is immaterial, Hurlock says. "My skin has nothing to with an issue that will be tried on merit. I will represent all people, black, white or green. The colour of my skin is not important. The question should be: are you good enough to do the job?"

Hurlock's chambers, 2 Bedford Row, has a record of defending uncomfortable cases. The head of chambers, William Clegg QC, represented Anthony Sawonuik, the first person in Britain to be convicted of Nazi war crimes. He also defended Michael Stone for the murder of Lin Russell and her daughter. Stone lost an appeal and was jailed for life. There have even been reports that former Yugoslav president, Slobodan Milosevic, has contacted the chambers to represent him at the War Crimes Tribunal.

"Bill has had a huge influence on my career," says Hurlock. "He is one of the great defence barristers and helped to show me that every case is worth taking, because, without legal representation for everyone, there can be no fair justice system."

Neil Acourt and David Norris, one of the other Lawrence suspects, were convicted of racial harassment at Woolwich Crown Court after being accused of throwing a cup of cola at an off-duty black policeman and calling him a "nigger". Mr Hurlock can't discuss the case, but it raises questions about how a black lawyer, who must have overcome racism himself, can defend a man accused of it.

He rejects the idea that because he is black he must have encountered racism. "I've had a smooth ride. And it helps being in a very good set of chambers. My mother told me from a very early age that racism existed, so I expect it to be there. But my home wasn't the place where I could say I didn't get the job because of racism. My mother would say that if you were competing against a white man then you just had to work twice as hard."

Hurlock was born in Jamaica 33 years ago after his parents had left Manchester to return to their home country. "My father was very ill and he wanted to spend his last few days in Jamaica. Six months after I was born he died." His mother returned to England and left John with his grandparents. Four years later he joined her in Manchester.

Young John was a talented footballer and had trials with Manchester United and Manchester City before joining Stockport United where he played until he was 19. He seemed to have set himself up for a career as a professional footballer, but still had doubts about his future. A year later he enrolled in a law course at Coventry Polytechnic. And, while keeping his options open – he still played semi-professional football – he passed his Bar exams. Now committed to law he was called as a barrister in 1993 and after a dalliance with the commercial Bar joined the leading criminal set of 2 Bedford Row. He soon established himself as a talented down-to-earth advocate. Until last year he had shoulder-length dreadlocks. But he says his decision to clip them had nothing to do with his aspirations at the Bar. "It was just a very hot day," he said.

As a barrister who values his black culture he says he has had no trouble fitting in with the conservative traditions of the Bar. "Of course racism exists. But despite all the stories you hear, I can't remember ever turning up to court and being directed to the dock. Certainly no one in chambers has ever said anything to me about my colour. It's good that people see black people at the Bar, like Courtenay Griffiths QC, doing high profile cases. It shows we are a presence and good enough to act for all kinds of people."

But what about that football career? "If those trials had worked out I don't think I would have ended up at the Bar," admits Hurlock who, by still playing football and coaching with Harrow Borough, is having his cake and eating it, too.