Shami Chakrabarti was born in the London Borough of Harrow, and studied law at the London School of Economics.
28 Facts About Shami Chakrabarti
2.
Shami Chakrabarti was one of the panel members of the Leveson Inquiry into press standards throughout 2011 and 2012.
3.
Shami Chakrabarti was born to Bengali Indian parents in the suburb of Kenton in the London Borough of Harrow.
4.
Shami Chakrabarti attended Bentley Wood High School, a girls' comprehensive school, then Harrow Weald Sixth Form College.
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Shami Chakrabarti studied law at the London School of Economics, at one point acting as a research assistant to Leonard Leigh, who wrote a paper on the British approach to terrorism and extradition; the paper was finally published in 1997.
6.
Shami Chakrabarti is a frequent contributor to BBC Radio and TV and various newspapers on the topic of human rights and civil liberties.
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Shami Chakrabarti was described by David Aaronovitch in The Times as "probably the most effective public affairs lobbyist of the past 20 years".
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Shami Chakrabarti was shortlisted in the Channel 4 Political Awards 2006 for the "Most Inspiring Political Figure" award.
9.
In 2009, Shami Chakrabarti called Prevent the "biggest spying operation in Britain in modern times".
10.
Shami Chakrabarti stepped down as the director of Liberty on 31 March 2016.
11.
In June 2008, Andy Burnham, the British Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, made what Shami Chakrabarti claimed were "insinuations" in an interview in Progress magazine at Shadow Home Secretary David Davis's resignation over the 42-day detention for terror suspects.
12.
Richard Kemp, a retired Army colonel and commander of the first Task Force Helmand in Afghanistan in 2003, accused Shami Chakrabarti of being "one of [Shiner's] greatest supporters".
13.
On 9 December 2011, Shami Chakrabarti wrote to the Metropolitan Police asking them to investigate the legality of the donations.
14.
Shami Chakrabarti admitted to feeling "bucketfuls" of embarrassment and shame about the affair and in April 2013 her spokesman confirmed that she had severed all ties with the LSE.
15.
In July 2011, Shami Chakrabarti was announced as one of the panel members of the Leveson Inquiry, a judicial inquiry into phone hacking in the UK.
16.
Shami Chakrabarti described her invitation onto the Inquiry as "a daunting privilege" and said it reflected Liberty's "belief in an appropriate balance between personal privacy and media freedom and above all in the Rule of law".
17.
On behalf of Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti welcomed the principal recommendation of a more robust and independent press self-regulator, but said Liberty would be unable to support the Report's last-resort alternative of compulsory statutory regulation.
18.
Shami Chakrabarti was one of two panel members to waive their right to claim fees or expenses for the duration of the inquiry.
19.
Shami Chakrabarti criticised the Conservative Party for not conducting their own inquiry into Islamophobia, following allegations from Sayeeda Warsi in London's 2016 mayoral election against Sadiq Khan.
20.
The Shami Chakrabarti Inquiry report was published in June 2016 and concluded that Labour was "not overrun by anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, or other forms of racism," but that there was an "occasionally toxic atmosphere".
21.
Shami Chakrabarti is an alumna of the British-American Project, and has been a governor of the Ditchley Foundation.
22.
Shami Chakrabarti's son attends Dulwich College, a fee-paying private school, leading some to attack her views on education as hypocritical.
23.
Shami Chakrabarti was portrayed by Indira Varma in the film Official Secrets.
24.
Shami Chakrabarti is a member of the Foundation for Information Policy Research advisory council.
25.
Shami Chakrabarti was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours.
26.
Shami Chakrabarti was one of eight Olympic Flag carriers at the London 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.
27.
Shami Chakrabarti was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom in 2013 by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4, and in 2014 she was included in The Sunday Times's "100 Makers of the 21st Century" list.
28.
In May 2018, it was announced that Shami Chakrabarti was to be sworn of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom.