This event has now finished.
  • Date and time: Sunday 11 June 2023, 12.45pm to 1.45pm
  • Location: In-person only
    Piazza Building, Campus East, University of York (Map)
  • Admission: Free admission, booking required

Event details

Nazir Afzal knows a thing or two about justice. As a Chief Prosecutor, it was his job to make sure the most complex, violent and harrowing crimes made it to court, and that their perpetrators were convicted.  From the Rochdale sex ring to the earliest prosecutions for honour killing and modern slavery, Nazir was at the forefront of the British legal system for decades.

Nazir also knows what it’s like to break the glass ceiling, challenge prejudice and shake up predominantly white institutions. Born in Birmingham to first generation Pakistani immigrants, he was the first Muslim to be appointed as a Chief Crown Prosecutor and the most senior Muslim lawyer in the Crown Prosecution Service.

Join us to celebrate the York Law School’s 15th anniversary, and for insights into Nazir’s groundbreaking career, the UK’s relationship with race and power, and more.

Book sales

You can buy copies of many of our speakers’ books from Fox Lane Books, a local independent bookseller and Festival partner. In some cases, author signed bookplates are available too.

About the speaker

Nazir Afzal OBE, Solicitor and former Chief Prosecutor, was Chief Crown Prosecutor for NW England and formerly Director in London. He was Chief Executive of the country’s Police and Crime Commissioners and, most recently, National Adviser to the Welsh Government. During his 30-year-long career, he has prosecuted the most high profile cases in the country and advised on many others, and he has led nationally on several legal topics, including violence against women and girls, child sexual abuse and honour based violence. He had responsibility for more than 100,000 prosecutions each year. His prosecutions of the so-called Rochdale grooming gang and hundreds of others were groundbreaking and changed the landscape of child protection. Nazir has received many accolades, and, in 2005, he was awarded an OBE by the Queen for his work.

Partners

University of York

Venue details

  • Wheelchair accessible