One of Britain’s most high-profile black women judges is facing a writ for libel damages from her mother over allegations that she was abused as a child.

Constance Briscoe, who 10 years ago was one of the first black women to be made a judge, is being sued by Carmen, her 73-year-old mother, over the claims made in Briscoe’s autobiography.

In the book, entitled Ugly, Briscoe claimed that her Jamaican mother not only beat and kicked her but spat on her and deprived her of food.

It was published earlier this year to critical acclaim and became a bestseller. However, it provoked an outburst of fury from Carmen Briscoe, who objected to her portrayal as a vile, abusive parent, which she says is untrue.

On Friday lawyers acting for Carmen issued proceedings in the High Court in London. The writ alleges “libel and aggravated damages” in the High Court against Briscoe and publishers Hodder & Stoughton.

Her solicitor, Ade Soyege, said last week his client was also seeking an injunction to stop more copies of the book being sold.

The row has caused deep divisions in the Briscoe family. Cynthia Eastman, Briscoe’s sister, who is accused in the book of virtually ignoring the alleged abuse, has backed her mother, describing the allegations as “totally untrue”.

Briscoe declined to talk about the legal case yesterday but said: “I have written about my life in my book Ugly and I’m not surprised by anything my mother would do, bearing in mind what happened in my past.”

Her solicitor, Sarah Webb, said: “We have the evidence that supports the allegations that Constance has made in the book. She stands by every word that’s been written.”

Whatever the libel courts decide, Ugly certainly makes for harrowing reading. Briscoe claims that for much of her childhood in south London she would lay awake in bed waiting for the creak in the stairs that warned of the arrival of her mother to beat her with a stick.

Briscoe, 49, also alleges her mother would tell her she was ugly and punch her bosom and pull her nipples in punishment.

The bitterness between the two continued after Briscoe left home and pursued a successful career as a barrister and a QC.

In 1999, three years after Briscoe became one of the first black women to be appointed a part-time judge, Carmen is said to have tried to sabotage her daughter’s career by writing to the Bar Council to allege that her daughter tried to hire a hitman to kill her.

The council, the barristers’ regulatory body, dismissed the claim as unsubstantiated.

Constance has two teenage children and lives with Tony Arlidge, also a QC.



Additional reporting: Angela Foster

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