I studied law with Peter Ashman at King's College London in the early 1970s. For my 21st birthday in 1973 he gave me a copy of John Stuart Mill's Three Essays on Liberty, Representative Government, the Subjection of Women with an introduction by the suffragette Millicent Garrett Fawcett. He was an amusing and humane companion, but his seriousness of purpose was always evident.
By the end of the 70s we had lost touch, but I remained aware of his professional direction of travel. I turned down an offer to join Justice, where he was the legal officer, on the grounds, then, that while practising as a barrister I would not join a political party or campaigning group.
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