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Nicola Williams (barrister)

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This article is about the British barrister. For the Australian soccer coach and former player, see Nicole Williams.

Nicola Williams
Occupation(s)Barrister, judge, ombudsman

Nicola Williams is a British barrister specialising in criminal law. Since 2009, she has been a part-time Crown Court Judge sitting on the London and South Eastern Circuit.[1]

She was the first Service Complaints Ombudsman for the UK Armed Forces.[2][3] In that role she urged the Ministry of Defence to tackle racism in the armed forces.[4] She has highlighted concern at the delay, and the failure to meet the target of 90% of Service complaints to be resolved in a timely fashion; and the disproportionate number of women, black and ethnic minority Service personnel making complaints.[5][6]

Williams was Complaints Commissioner for the Cayman Islands from 2009 to 2014.[7] She served several years as a Commissioner at the Independent Police Complaints Commission, a board member at the Police Complaints Authority [8] Williams was the lead Commissioner responsible for drafting IPCC guidelines on investigating allegations of discriminatory conduct by police officers and a member of the IPCC Resources and Diversity Committees.

She is a Fellow of the RSA and a former Chair of the BBC Regional Advisory Committee for London.[9]

In 2020 Williams was appointed as the new chair for the Independent Complaints Panel of the Portman Group the social responsibility and regulatory body for alcohol in the UK.[10]

Williams was listed as one of the 100 most influential Black people in the U.K[11] and won a Cosmopolitan magazine Woman of Achievement Award (Professions).[12]

She is the author of the novel Without Prejudice,[12] which describes the experiences of being a black female lawyer in Britain is also an indictment of the legal system and privilege.[13][14] The novel was republished by Penguin Books in 2020 in a series curated by Bernardine Evaristo of 'lost and hard-to-find' books by Black writers.[14]

References

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  1. ^ "House of Commons - Pre-appointment hearing for the Service Complaints Commissioner - Defence Committee". publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  2. ^ "» Nicola Williams is Announced as New ICP Chair". www.portmangroup.org.uk. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  3. ^ "History and Legislation". Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  4. ^ Media, P. A. (19 December 2019). "Racist incidents on rise in British army, warns ombudsman". the Guardian. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Nicola Williams - My last blog as Ombudsman". Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  6. ^ "Complaints Ombudsman: Cases From Women And BAME Personnel 'Still Disproportionate'". Forces Network. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  7. ^ "New Complaints Commissioner". Statement from the Office of the Governor.
  8. ^ "Ms Nicola Williams, Complaints Commissioner - Human Rights Commission Cayman". www.anticorruptioncommission.ky. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  9. ^ "House of Commons - Pre-appointment hearing for the Service Complaints Commissioner - Defence Committee". publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  10. ^ "» Nicola Williams is Announced as New ICP Chair". www.portmangroup.org.uk. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  11. ^ "Nicola Williams". Speakers for Schools. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Nicola Williams". www.penguin.co.uk. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  13. ^ "REVIEW: Without Prejudice - Nicola Williams (Penguin, 2021)". off the record. 31 January 2021. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Bernardine Evaristo rediscovers six novels by Black writers for Black Britain: Writing Back series". www.penguin.co.uk. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
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