The first Sikh to be appointed a judge in England and Wales topped the roll call of lawyers named in the New Year Honours list for 2010.
Retired circuit judge Mota Singh QC (pictured), a barrister who sat at Southwark Crown Court, received a knighthood in recognition of his services to the administration of justice, community relations and the voluntary sector.
Two circuit judges, barristers Keith Cutler and David Fletcher, received CBEs for their services to the administration of justice. Tooks Court barrister Peter Herbert was given an OBE for services to equality, diversity and human rights.
Solicitor Helen Morris, a Crown advocate with Merseyside and Cheshire Crown Prosecution Service, received an MBE, as did Berly Cox, an administrator with the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service in North Yorkshire.
Herbert, who chairs the Society of Black Lawyers, said: ‘Although we no longer have an empire, so the name of the award should be changed, it is good to be rewarded and demonstrates that service does make a difference and helps make the profession more diverse.’
Mota Singh, QC, was the first Sikh judge in the United Kingdom.
Judge Mota Singh was raised and educated in Nairobi, Kenya. In
Kenya, he held the positions of city councilor and alderman, secretary
of the Kenya Law Society and vice chairman of Kenya Justice.
He
migrated to the United Kingdom following Kenya’s independence.
In 1978 he was appointed as a Queens Counsel. In 1982, when he
was appointed a Circuit Judge he made world headlines for opting
to wear a white turban in court instead of the customary wig.
As a result, he came to be seen as a sign of an evolving, multicultural
Britain.
