Liberty criticises appointment of David Goodhart as EHRC commissioner

Liberty, the human rights organisation, has responded to news David Goodhart has been appointed as the new commissioner of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Goodhart is on record as supporting the hostile environment – a Government policy designed to make life difficult for people with insecure immigration status, and which was responsible for the Windrush scandal.

Gracie Bradley, interim director at Liberty, said:

“Watchdogs play a vital role in ensuring the Government and other public bodies respect the rights of everyone in the UK – and so who has strategic oversight of the organisation is of critical importance. They must bring fairness and balance and that’s why the EHRC’s most recent appointment is concerning. The fact David Goodhart has expressed support for the hostile environment policy, one of the greatest threats to rights in the UK today, puts him firmly outside of this scope.

“This is not the first time the Government has made a questionable appointment  in an oversight position – only last year it was forced to remove Lord Carlile, due to his publicly stated bias about the Prevent programme. These appointments must be seen in tandem with this Government’s plans to put itself out of reach of accountability. Liberty, alongside others, will continue to keep watch on how those in power treat our rights – especially those of the most marginalised who suffer most from overbearing state powers.”