Nazir Afzal, lawyer

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.4 • 13.7K Ratings

🗓️ 1 August 2021

⏱️ 34 minutes

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Summary

Nazir Afzal is a solicitor and the former chief crown prosecutor for north-west England. Among his notable cases, he brought the Rochdale sex grooming gangs to trial in 2012. Nazir’s parents arrived in the UK from Pakistan in 1961 and he was born in Birmingham the following year. After completing his legal training he started his career as a defence lawyer but soon realised that he preferred prosecution to defence, joining the Crown Prosecution Service in 1991. As director of prosecutions for London he turned his attention to so-called honour-based violence and brought successful prosecutions against the perpetrators of these crimes. In 2011 as chief crown prosecutor for north-west England he began investigating sex grooming gangs in Rochdale, overturning a previous CPS decision not to bring charges against the gangs. He brought prosecutions against nine men who were convicted and jailed in 2012 for the sexual exploitation of 47 young girls. Nazir retired from the Crown Prosecution Service in 2015. He currently chairs the Catholic Church’s new safeguarding body and advises the Welsh government on issues of gender-based violence. DISC ONE: Jump Around by House of Pain DISC TWO: This Woman’s Work by Kate Bush DISC THREE: Why Should I Cry for You? by Sting DISC FOUR: One in Ten by UB40 DISC FIVE: Set You Free (Voodoo And Serano Remix) by N-Trance DISC SIX: Woman in Chains by Tears For Fears With Oleta Adams DISC SEVEN: One by Mary J. Blige & U2 DISC EIGHT: Talkin' Bout A Revolution by Tracey Chapman BOOK CHOICE: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee LUXURY ITEM: A guitar CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: This Woman’s Work by Kate Bush Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Paula McGinley

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts
0:04.9	Hello, I'm Lauren LeVern and this is the Desert Island Disks Podcast.
0:08.8	Every week I ask my guests to choose the 8 tracks, book and luxury they'd want to take
0:13.3	with them if they were cast away to a desert island.
0:16.7	And for right reasons, the music is shorter than the original broadcast.
0:20.9	I hope you enjoy listening.
0:44.7	My cast away this week is the solicitor and former Chief Crown Prosecutor for North West England,
0:50.0	Nazia Afzal.
0:51.4	Born in Birmingham to parents who'd emigrated to the UK from Pakistan in the early 1960s,
0:56.5	he grew up experiencing racism on a daily basis.
0:59.8	His father told him not to expect justice in this life, yet his remarkable career has been
1:05.2	spent in its pursuit.
1:07.4	During his 24 years at the Crown Prosecutor's Service, he led the fight to bring the perpetrators
1:12.3	of some of Britain's most notorious crimes, particularly violent fences against women and
1:17.1	girls, to justice.
1:19.2	His case file includes the Rochdale grooming gangs, numerous so-called honour killings,
1:24.1	and the prosecution of the disgraced former broadcasters to you at all.
1:28.5	His commitment to uphold the law without fear or favour has earned him an OBE and an interesting
1:34.5	mix of enemies.
1:35.8	He's been on an al-Qaeda hit list and the target of abuse from the far right.
1:40.4	He took early retirement from the CPS in 2015 but remains as busy as ever, chairing
1:45.5	the Catholic Church's new safeguarding body and advising the Welsh Government on issues
	...

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