Black barrister Alexandra Wilson on 'justifying presence in court'

A black barrister says she has to unfairly "justify" being in court due to the colour of her skin, after staff mistook her for a defendant three times in one day.

Alexandra Wilson, 25, from Essex, said a security officer, a solicitor and a clerk had not recognised she was in the legal profession at a court on Wednesday.

"It does make me feel uncomfortable that, actually, I have to justify my presence in court in a way that my white colleagues just don't," she told the BBC.

"There were white barristers and solicitors freely entering and leaving the courtroom and not a single one of them was challenged."

Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has apologised for the "totally unacceptable behaviour".