Chiswick’s ‘Bog-Standard’ Baroness

A lesson in modesty from first female Attorney General Patricia Scotland

Recently place at the top of a list of black role models ahead of a host of singers, sportswomen and assorted celebrities, it seems that Chiswick resident Patricia Scotland aka Baroness Scotland of Asthal, is also a model of modesty.

Speaking to The Telegraph, she said the accolade came as a surprise "I am amazed by how many people know anything about me, or even are interested in me."

Patricia Scotland was the youngest Queen's Counsel since William Pitt, is one of just two black women in the government, and is now the first female Attorney General since the office was founded in 1315. Impressive for someone who was advised as a schoolgirl to be a supervisor at the local Sainsbury's.

Achievements aside, unlike her many of her peers, Patricia Scotland keeps a low profile. "In my family I am bog-standard," she says. "They see me as normal."

Married to fellow barrister, Richard Mawhinney, she has two sons who attended St Mary’s RC Primary School before moving on to secondary level education in Westminster.