Born: 24 May 1956, London
Nationality: British
Status: Married to Caroline Hutton (1990), two sons, one grandson
Languages: Bilingual English and French
Address: Temple Garden Chambers, 1 Harcourt Buildings, Temple, London EC49DA (work)
Education:
- 1969-74: Westminster School
- 1975-78: Magdalen College, Oxford, BA Modern History (1978)
- 1980: Called to the Bar, Middle Temple
Professional Career:
- 2008: Queen’s Counsel
- 2010-14: Ex officio Leader of the Bar and member of the Bar Council
- 2012: Honorary Recorder of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
- 2020-23: Member of the International Law Committee of the Bar Council’s Future Relations Working Group
- 2020-21: Independent Commissioner to review vetting, social media policies, and governance of Islamic Relief Worldwide
- 2022-23: Independent Reviewer of the governance of Christ Church, Oxford
Political Career:
- 1997-2019: MP for Beaconsfield
- 1999-2001: Front bench spokesman on Scotland and the Constitution
- 2001-2003: Front bench spokesman on Criminal Justice and Community Cohesion
- 2003-09: Shadow Attorney General
- 2008-09: Shadow Home Secretary
- 2009-10: Shadow Justice Secretary
- 2010-14: Attorney General of England and Wales, Advocate General for Northern Ireland
- 2010: Privy Councillor
- 2014-17: Member of Standards and Privileges Committee
- 2015-19: Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament
- 2015-19: Member of National Security Strategy Joint Committee
- 2017-19: Member of Ecclesiastical Joint Committee
Positions of Leadership & Governance:
- 2015: Vice Chair and Director of Global Law Summit, London
- 2016-18: Chair of Citizen’s UK Commission on Muslim participation in public life (leading to the publication of The Missing Muslims report in 2018)
- 2010-: President of the Franco-British Society
- 2010-24: Governor of Ditchley Park, member of Council of Management (2018-24), Honorary Governor (2024-)
- 2011-19: Member of the Council and Vice Chair of Franco-British Council
- 2015-: Member of the Council of Reference of Westminster Abbey Institute
- 2018-: Trustee of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies
- 2020-: Visiting Professor in Law, Politics, and Human Rights at Goldsmiths, London University
- 2023-: Independent member of the Board of Westminster Abbey
- 2023-24: Chair of Independent Commission (leading to the publication of UK Governance Project on reforms to improve national governance)
Other Activities:
- 1985-88: Member, Lambeth Police Community Consultative Group
- 1992-98: Member, London Diocesan Synod of Church of England
- 1990-96: Lay Visitor to Police stations, Hammersmith and Fulham
- 2011-: Member of the Council of Justice
- 2014-17: Chair of the Executive Committee of the Society of Conservative Lawyers
- 2014-: Lecturing, writing, and participation in seminars on Law and Politics, including:
- UCL Judicial Institute lecture (2014)
- Palliser Lecture, London (2015)
- Harry Street Lecture, Manchester University (2015)
- Conference on the significance of Magna Carta, Amiens University (2015)
- Denning Lecture (2016), Bar Association for Commerce, Finance and Industry
- Foreword to the 2016 Supreme Court Yearbook
- Cardiff University Law School, Annual Lecture (2016)
- Sir John Foster and Miriam Rothschild Lecture, London (2017)
- Colloque on l’Ordre Public, Paris (2017), Conseil d’Etat and Cour de Cassation
- Mackenzie-Stuart Lecture (2018), Cambridge University Law Faculty
- Constitutional Society, Annual Lecture (2018)
- Burrell Lecture (2018), Competition Law Association
- Amnesty International Lecture, Belfast (2018)
- F.A. Mann Lecture, London (2018)
- Attlee Memorial Lecture (2021)
- Bolton Abbey Lecture (2022)
- Leveson Lecture, Institute of Judicial Studies (2022)
- Norfolk Community Law Service Annual Lecture (2023)
- Trevor Smith Memorial Lecture (2023)
- Author of Chapter on the “Rule of Law” in The Case for the Liberal Centre Right (published Autumn 2023)
Awards:
- 2005: Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year
- 2014: Liberty Human Rights Lifetime Achievement Award
- 2015: Halsbury Legal Award for contribution to the Rule of Law
- 2016: Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa, BPP University
- 2018: Political Studies Association Parliamentarian of the Year
- 2022: Doctor of Laws, Honoris Causa, Kingston University
- 2022: Doctor of Letters, Honoris Causa, University of Westminster
Decorations:
- 2016: Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur (France)
Recreations:
Mountain walking, skiing, scuba diving, architecture, and rugs.