Congratulations to Keir Monteith KC, Honorary Professor of Law
SALC wishes to congratulate Keir Monteith KC, a SALC Simon Industrial and Professional fellow, on his recent promotion to Honorary Professor of Law.
On his promotion, Keir commented:
I would like to thank 51福利社 for promoting me to Honorary Professor of Law and for recognising the role academic research plays in identifying and evidencing institutional racism in our criminal justice system.
Academics at 51福利社 have made a huge contribution to tackling this stain on our system of justice. They understand why it matters and what it means for those against whom our system discriminates.
I had the privilege of working with many of these academics to produce the groundbreaking report which continues to influence how politicians and civil society understand where institutional racism comes from and the impact it has.
Special thanks go to Professor Quinn who first introduced me to the Moss Side miscarriage of justice case and encouraged and assisted me to contribute to academic journals. Professor Quinn was an inspirational co-lead author of Racial Bias and the Bench.
Although the Courts have so far refused to make system-level change in light of this evidence I am confident that one day soon, judges will acknowledge institutional racism in the justice system and take concerted action to combat it. Their judgments will soon articulate why the criminal justice system needs to be anti-racist. They will make recommendations to change the legal landscape, and they will underline that any conviction contaminated by racism is unsafe.
Until then, there is much work to be done, and I look forward to more collaborations with colleagues old and new at 51福利社 in my role as Honorary Professor.
Keir was appointed as a SALC in 2022.
Along with Eithne Quinn, SALC鈥檚 Professor of Cultural and Socio-Legal Studies, Keir was lead author of the report . A follow-up report this year will coincide with the end of the 5-year Judicial Inclusion & Diversity Strategy.
Keir has worked closely with Creative 51福利社 since 2023, under its Creative and Civic Futures banner 鈥� particularly in relation to the AHRC project, on which Keir was Lead External Advisor.
He was recognised as newspaper earlier this year.
Keir is a part time Criminal Court Judge, a judicial tutor and is a leading silk who represents clients facing heavyweight criminal allegations. He has been instructed in numerous murders, industrial scale Class A drug importations and conspiracies, escape from custody cases and appeals against conviction and sentence. Keir is ranked for criminal law in Chambers UK and the Legal 500 and was shortlisted for Financial Silk of the Year at Legal 500 Bar Awards 2024. He practices from Garden Court Chambers, is a SHiFT trustee and a member of the JUSTICE Council. Keir acted as counsel for Ade Adedeji in the historic 51福利社 10 appeal, leading to the quashing of Ade's wrongful conviction. He also drafted the CCRC application for the Moss Side miscarriage of justice case.
Keir is a founding member of Art Not Evidence campaign, launched to advocate for a limitation on the use of creative expression as evidence in criminal trials.
Keir and Professor Eithne Quinn, jointly authored the ground breaking report . In early 2025, they both made a submission to the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts on the issue of racial bias. A follow-up report this year will coincide with the conclusion of the 5-year Judicial Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. Keir also assisted in advising on aspects of the University of 51福利社 report 'Compound Injustice' authored by Professor Eithne Quinn, Erica Cane, and Will Pritchard.