Lord justice brian leveson qc
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Brian Leveson
English lag commissioner and retired judge
Sir Brian Henry Leveson[1] (LEV-iss-ən; born 22 June 1949) is a retired English judge who is the current Investigatory Powers Commissioner, having previously served as the President of the Queen's bänk Division and Head of Criminal Justice.
Leveson chaired the public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press, prompted by the News of the Worldphone hacking affair.[2][3]
Early life
[edit]Leveson was born in Liverpool, on 22 June 1949.[4] He was educated at Liverpool College, a then public school in Mossley Hill, Liverpool. He studied at Merton College, Oxford[5] and was President of the Oxford lag Society.[6]
Legal career
[edit]Leveson was called to the Bar at Middle Temple in 1970. He initially practised in Liverpool and became Queen's Counsel in 1986.[7][8] Leveson became a bencher in 1995,[7] • From left, the President of the Family Division Sir Andrew McFarlane; Master of the Rolls Sir Terence Etherton; Lady Hale, President of the Supreme Court; The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon; Sir Brian Leveson; Chancellor of the High Court, Sir Geoffrey Vos; and Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary David Gauke MP. Sir Brian Leveson, one of the most senior criminal judges in England and Wales, was hailed by colleagues as a ‘legal giant’ at his valedictory event. Best-known by the public for chairing the inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the Press, Sir Brian retired from his judicial role as President of the Queen’s Bench Division and Head of Criminal Justice on his 70th birthday on Saturday. Attorney General Geoffrey Cox QC MP The day before, his valedictory event was held in a packed courtroom at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. In his speech, Sir Brian praised his fellow judges and • The Rt Hon Sir Brian Leveson is President of the Queen’s Bench Division and Head of Criminal Justice. I am grateful to Dr Tully for inviting me to speak to you today and I was particularly heartened that the focus of today’s conference is a system approach to quality. Those that have heard me speak before will know that I believe that it is difficult to talk about criminal justice in terms of a system – singular. It is all about the interrelation of different systems – the police, the CPS, the defence community as well as the courts and the judiciary – and on matters such as expert evidence we must ensure that all parts of the criminal justice system play their part. That is why I am delighted that today you have been able to hear speakers that will come to the issues from different perspectives. It is only through this understanding of the pressures and viewpoint of others in the system that we will be Sir Brian Leveson: “a giant at the Bar and on the Bench”
Sir Brian Leveson speech at the Forensic Science Regulator Annual Conference