Shortly after publishing her 2016 inquiry into anti-Semitism within the Labour Party, Baroness Shami Chakrabarti was invited to Manchester to discuss the findings of her report in front of a 500-strong Jewish audience.

Understandably nervous, the former director of advocacy group Liberty slowly warmed up, thanks to a prevailing courtesy from those who came to hear her speak. As Jews, we're not big on lynching – even when provoked by a pathetic whitewash .

And so, as she relaxed, Baroness Chakrabarti offered a rare flash of humour, quipping that she needed to be careful about what she said as she knew there were lots of lawyers in the audience.

Smelling blood, my hand shot up when the floor was opened for questions. How did she know about all the lawyers, I queried.