Martha Spurrier: Equal rights barrister to succeed Shami Chakrabarti as director of Liberty campaign group

Ms Spurrier said it was a ‘huge privilege’ to join an organisation which ‘has been fearlessly confronting state power for more than eight decades’

Barrister Martha Spurrier has been named as the new head of campaign group Liberty (PA)

An outspoken supporter of the Human Rights Act has been appointed to succeed Shami Chakrabarti as the head of the campaign group Liberty.

Martha Spurrier, a barrister specialising in equal rights and access to justice, will take over as Liberty’s director on 31 May.

Her appointment signals that the organisation is preparing for a protracted battle with the Government over its promise to scrap the Act as well as its plan to give new surveillance powers to police and the security services.

She took a prominent role last year in a campaign against the Act’s abolition which targeted the constituency of the Justice Secretary, Michael Gove.

Ms Spurrier said it was a “huge privilege” to join an organisation which “has been fearlessly confronting state power for more than eight decades”.

She added: “Its work is needed now more than ever. In this fast-paced, complex, digital world the battle to defend our human rights faces new frontiers.”

Announcing her decision in January to step down after 12 years Ms Chakrabarti told The Independent that the time was right for her to move on, explaining that she had “stood back and said: ‘let’s not be too vainglorious’”.