Shabana Mahmood
Credit: Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street, OGL 3

Shabana Mahmood MP took her oath on the Quran at Court 4 as Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill welcomed her, along with Attorney General Richard Hermer KC and Solicitor General Sarah Sackman MP to their roles.

The Lord Chief Justice, Dame Sue Carr, said the appointment of Ms Mahmood was a triple first.

She added: “I do not, of course, refer to you being the first lord chancellor to have been inspired to come to the law through watching John Thaw play Kavanagh QC. Your swearing-in is significant for far more substantive reasons.

“It is so, not only because you are the first lord chancellor to swear their oath on the Quran, but also because today’s ceremony marks the first time that a lady chief justice has sworn in a female lord chancellor.

“Both of these firsts highlight how your office, our constitution in microcosm, continues to evolve and reflect the society which it serves.”

She added: “I am confident that you will deploy all three qualities in the service of justice, not least in your efforts to secure funding for our courts and tribunals.

“I very much look forward to forging a stable, long-term partnership with you as lord chancellor within constitutional bounds, in the service of justice and the achievement of justice.”

Ms Mahmood told the packed courtroom it was the “highest honour” to be sworn in as lord chancellor.

She said: “Once a little girl from Small Heath who worked behind the till at her parents’ corner shop [and] never dared to dream she would be sitting before you today counted among the holders of this role.”