A complete overhaul of the UK’s anti-discrimination laws is needed to provide a single coherent legal code to protect individuals, a leading human rights lawyer has claimed.

Lord Lester of Herne Hill QC criticised existing legislation, first introduced more than 30 years ago, as incoherent, piecemeal and complex.


He argued that eliminating institutional barriers requires greater emphasis on changing organisational cultures from within. ‘Too much emphasis is currently placed on state regulation and too little on the responsibility of individuals and organisations to generate change.’


Pointing out that compliance is too dependent on the willingness of individuals to take a case to court, he cited the failure of current legislation in tackling the issue of unequal pay between men and women as an example of the shortcomings in existing laws.


Writing in ELA Briefing, the journal of the Employment Lawyers Association, he said a coherent, user-friendly framework that covers all the main grounds of unfair discrimination – with concepts rationally and consistently applied – is needed.


The Liberal Democrat peer said: ‘There needs to be equal and effective protection against each type of discrimination, and equal access to speedy and inexpensive remedies, with assistance from an independent equality commission that has the necessary powers and resources to promote equality and eliminate discrimination.’


In January 2003, Lord Lester introduced the Equality Bill in the House of Lords. It provided a framework for eliminating discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, sex, marital or family status, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, age or disability.


Lord Lester said the Bill emphasised positive duties to promote equality, and encouraged ‘an inclusive pro-active, non-adversarial approach to fair participation and fair access while providing effective remedies and sanctions’.


It passed successfully through the House of Lords and received support in the Commons, but fell for lack of support from the government.


In October 2003, the government announced plans for a single body to promote human rights and challenge discrimination. Its own Equality Bill introducing the commission for equality and human rights failed to make it to the statute book because of the general election, but seems sure to be reintroduced if Labour is re-elected.


While almost all of the 400 respondents to the consultation on the government Bill supported a single Equality Act, there was still no official commitment to the idea.


Lord Lester described the present situation as ‘untenable and inconsistent with the government’s own proposal to set up the new commission.’