Aamer Anwar is a Glasgow-based human-rights solicitor whose career grew from a personal encounter with injustice. After experiencing a police assault as a university student, he pursued a civil action and redirected his life toward law, anti-racism advocacy and institutional accountability.
He later became sole principal of Aamer Anwar & Co and worked across criminal appeals, bereaved-family campaigns and major public inquiries. Official records also document his service as University of Glasgow Rector and his representation of Scottish Covid Bereaved and the family of Sheku Bayoh.
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Mohammed Aamer Anwar |
| Profession | Human-rights and criminal-defense solicitor |
| Born | 30 December 1967 |
| Birthplace | Manchester, England; raised in Liverpool |
| Base | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Education | Politics and Sociology, followed by legal qualifications listed by his firm |
| Firm | Principal of Aamer Anwar & Co |
| Public roles | Former University of Glasgow Rector and legal representative in major public inquiries |
| Languages | English, Urdu and Punjabi, as listed by his firm |
From a Working-Class Upbringing to Student Activism
In a 2011 TES interview profile based on Anwar’s own account, he was recorded as having been born in Manchester on 30 December 1967 and raised in Liverpool. Some secondary and institutional profiles instead list Liverpool as his birthplace, making Manchester the stronger directly sourced account rather than an entirely uncontested fact.
His father worked as a bus driver, and Anwar has described the family as working class. He also recalled experiencing racist bullying during his school years. Although he considered himself extremely shy, reading offered an escape, while school debates gradually helped him become comfortable speaking before large audiences.
Anwar moved to Scotland in 1986 and entered the University of Glasgow as a mechanical engineering student. His direction changed as he became involved in student politics. He switched to Politics and Sociology, and the university later credited his student campaigning with contributing to the introduction of anonymous marking.
The Police Assault That Changed His Direction
A defining event occurred in 1991 while Anwar was involved in flyposting in Glasgow. He has said that police officers assaulted him, leaving him with broken teeth. He subsequently pursued a civil action that continued for several years.
The later civil action found that an officer had assaulted him in what was reported as an apparently racially motivated attack. Anwar received £4,200 in damages. He described the incident and resulting legal action as the turning point that led him toward civil-rights campaigning and law.
Entering Law and Establishing His Own Firm
Anwar began his legal traineeship in 2000 and was formally enrolled as a solicitor on 20 December 2001. The distinction explains why some profiles date the start of his legal career to 2000 even though his official admission came the following year.
His early practice was largely connected with criminal law. After working at TF Donaldson & Reid and Beltrami Anwar, he became sole principal of Aamer Anwar & Co on 1 November 2006. The firm is based at 21 Blythswood Square in Glasgow.
Its work has combined criminal defense, appeals, human rights and representation in public inquiries. His professional profile lists qualifications including an MA, LLB, Diploma in Race and Community Relations and Diploma in Legal Practice. It also lists English, Urdu and Punjabi among his languages.
The Long Campaign for Surjit Singh Chhokar
One of Anwar’s longest public campaigns developed after the murder of Surjit Singh Chhokar on 4 November 1998. He worked with Chhokar’s family as they challenged failures in the original investigation and the way authorities had communicated with and treated them.
The campaign continued through official inquiries, political scrutiny and changes to Scotland’s double-jeopardy law. On 5 October 2016, Ronnie Colter was convicted of Chhokar’s murder at a retrial.
Anwar marked the verdict after almost 18 years of campaigning with the family. The outcome involved the work of the family, lawyers, campaigners, investigators, prosecutors and lawmakers rather than a single person.
Appeals and Internationally Sensitive Cases
Anwar’s criminal work has included acting in the successful appeal for Thomas “TC” Campbell and Joseph Steele. Their convictions were quashed in March 2004 after they had spent approximately two decades in prison.
His firm also records his representation of relatives of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi in litigation connected with the Lockerbie conviction. In another internationally sensitive matter, he represented Catalan academic Clara Ponsatí during extradition proceedings.
These cases placed his practice at the intersection of criminal appeals, human rights and disputes carrying political or international consequences.
Representing Families Through Public Inquiries
A large part of Anwar’s more recent work has involved families seeking answers from public institutions. His firm represents the family of Sheku Bayoh, who died in May 2015 after being restrained by police in Kirkcaldy.
Anwar later gave formal evidence to the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry about the family’s campaign and his involvement in it. The inquiry has examined the circumstances surrounding Bayoh’s death, the subsequent investigation and whether race affected the way events were handled.
Official UK Covid-19 Inquiry records also recognize Anwar as the legal representative of Scottish Covid Bereaved. Written submissions filed in July 2025 continued to identify him as the group’s principal solicitor. His role has involved presenting the experiences and concerns of Scottish families who lost relatives during the pandemic.
University Leadership and Professional Recognition
University of Glasgow students elected Anwar Rector in March 2017. He received 4,458 of the 8,210 votes cast and served in the position from 2017 to 2020.
During his installation address, he said the university had broken down religious, cultural, and political barriers for him. He described activism as an important part of his education and encouraged students to speak openly for what they believed was true.
His legal work also received professional recognition. Anwar was named Lawyer of the Year at the 2017 Scottish Legal Awards and Solicitor of the Year at the 2018 Law Awards of Scotland. These were industry awards rather than regulatory rankings.
The Personal Cost of Public Advocacy
Anwar has spoken directly about the strain created by sustained and controversial legal campaigns. In evidence to the Sheku Bayoh Inquiry in October 2024, he described receiving death threats and experiencing financial and personal pressure.
He also disclosed that he had experienced a nervous breakdown before the inquiry began. His evidence connected that period with years of demanding work, attacks on his professional reputation and the difficulty of supporting a family campaign without adequate funding.
Anwar said he had learned from lawyers who represented the family of Stephen Lawrence that he needed to develop a thick skin. Part of that professional discipline involved resisting the urge to answer every criticism or provocation. He has also acknowledged that legal campaigning brings many defeats, with the possibility of an occasional meaningful victory providing a reason to continue.
Family Values Behind His Work
In a 2021 interview, Anwar confirmed that he had one son and two daughters. He connected his anti-racism advocacy with the kind of society he wanted his children and later generations to inherit.
His stated hope was that they would be valued for their character rather than judged by the color of their skin.
In November 2023, Anwar announced that his father had died at home after several difficult years with dementia. He also acknowledged his mother’s commitment to remaining beside and caring for him.
Recent Legal Work and Career Decisions
In October 2024, Anwar announced that his firm would stop accepting new criminal legal-aid cases from the following month. After approximately 25 years in that area of practice, he attributed the decision to what he regarded as the deterioration of Scotland’s legal-aid system. The change concerned new criminal legal-aid instructions rather than every form of criminal or publicly funded work.
The Sheku Bayoh Inquiry subsequently entered another phase after disruption to its leadership. The Scottish Government appointed Lord Colbeck as its new chair, and he assumed the role on 2 March 2026. Anwar remained publicly associated with the Bayoh family’s campaign as the inquiry continued.
In June and July 2026, reputable Scottish reporting also identified him as the solicitor representing former first minister Nicola Sturgeon in matters related to the police investigation into SNP finances. Acting for a client does not establish any conclusion about that person or the underlying investigation.
A Career Shaped by Speaking Up
From long-running family campaigns to criminal appeals and public-inquiry representation, Anwar’s documented career has centered on people seeking answers from powerful institutions. His documented work for the Sheku Bayoh family and Scottish Covid Bereaved forms part of his established record in civil liberties, anti-racism and public accountability.