Gina Miller, the campaigner who won a Brexit legal challenge against the government, has been named as the country’s most influential black person.
The acknowledgement comes in the latest annual list of the 100 most influential people of African or African-Caribbean heritage in Britain, published by the Powerlist Foundation yesterday.
It is set against an extraordinary range of vitriol directed at the lawyer over her successful challenge to the UK government over Article 50.
“It’s amazing to get an accolade when what I’ve done has solicited a huge amount of abuse,” said Miller, who has previously said she would “seriously consider” leaving the UK because of threats of an acid attack that left her afraid to leave her home.
“To have somebody acknowledge me is extraordinarily kind and counters a lot of what I still get on a daily basis.”
Miller became a public figure when she challenged the government over its authority to trigger Article 50 without parliamentary approval. The Supreme Court ruled in her favour in January and, as a consequence, she became a hate figure for many Brexit supporters.
In the same month as the Supreme Court judgment, the Metropolitan police revealed they had issued eight “cease and desist” notices to people who had sent Miller threatening messages.
In July, Rhodri Philipps, the fourth Viscount St Davids, was jailed for 12 weeks for offering money to anyone who would run over and kill Miller.
The entrepreneur, who founded and leads the online wealth manager SCM Direct and the True and Fair foundation charity, has had 24-hour security installed in her home and hired security guards.
The recognition for Miller comes in a year that has seen a significant growth in the number of females on the Powerlist, with black women accounting for almost half of the top 100 and six of the top 10.