Notes for Members of the Press

Mary Monson is a progressive lawyer who has represented the abused and unpopular in many of Britain’s notable trials since the 1970s.

She successfully defended Alan Lord, the alleged Strangeways Prison Riot Leader for the murder of a fellow inmate during the riots in 1990. During the 1980s she represented all of the major Manchester Gangs, and successfully defended alleged kingpin and one time Hacienda head doorman Damian Noonan when he was accused of the murder of “White Tony” Johnson. Around this time she also successfully represented the charity Shelter in a defining libel case against the Rachman slum landlords.

More recently, she represented Paul Taylor, accused of the racist murder of black teenager Anthony Walker, and successfully defended Ruhela Khanom, the “Hijab MP3 Juror” in a prosecution for contempt of court. She is political, but never party political, and is a vocal contributor on the Government’s destruction of our Legal Aid System. She also writes regularly on prisoners’ rights for Inside Time, the national prison newspaper.

Availability for Comment on News Stories

Mary is always available for comment on any story relating to:

Changes in the law which affect the individual
Terrorism
General Crime – both in the courts and on the streets
The Judiciary
UK Prisons
The Police
General Legal Stories
Crime among the new migrant worker population

Experience with the Press

Mary has been interviewed on television on television many times, both on news (BBC, Granada) and on current affairs (Dispatches etc.) programmes. She is used to providing clear explanations which cut through to the core, and tell the cold, sometimes uncomfortable truth.

For further information, please phone our main office on freephone 0808 1554870.