About me

I grew up in Scotland and in England, studying at the Universities of Oxford (Ancient and Modern History) and Cambridge (Law).  After spells working in Washington D.C. and in Brussels, I began practice at the English Bar in 1988.  In 1999 I was appointed Queen’s Counsel (senior barrister), and in the same year took up a post as Visiting Professor of Law at King’s College London.  Between 2000 and 2004 I conducted human rights monitoring missions for the Council of Europe in Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Turkey.  I have served as Trustee or on the governing body of a number of charitable, educational and professional organisations.  Since 2004, I have been a Crown Court Recorder (part-time criminal judge) on the South-Eastern Circuit.

As a member of the self-employed Bar, I have observed the "cab rank rule" throughout my career.  This has meant acting both for and against the Government in the full range of English courts and tribunals, as well as in the European Court of Justice (Luxembourg) and the European Court of Human Rights (Strasbourg).  I expect to continue practice at the Bar for the duration of my appointment as independent reviewer, but will not appear either for or against the Government in cases related to the reviewer's responsibilities.

I have the use of a room in the Home Office, in particular for the review of sensitive material, but will remain based in my own private office in central London.