Brian Leveson
Encyclopedia
Brian Henry Leveson QC
(ˈlɛvɨsən; born 22 June 1949), previously styled as the Honourable Mr Justice Leveson, now styled as the Right Honourable Lord Justice Leveson, is an English Judge, a Lord Justice of Appeal
for England
and Wales
and, since 2010, head of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales
.
It was announced on 13 July 2011 that Lord Justice Leveson would lead the Leveson Inquiry
, a public inquiry
into the regulation of the media prompted by the News of the World
phone hacking affair
.
, Leveson was educated at Liverpool College, before going up to Merton College, Oxford
.
in 1970. He initially practised in Liverpool and took silk in 1986. In 1989, he led the prosecution of Ken Dodd
for tax evasion. Dodd, who was represented by George Carman QC
, was acquitted after a three-week trial. Leading judge Sir Ronald Waterhouse QC
later commented in an interview on Leveson's performance in the courtroom that "he lost the mood of the case, and he certainly lost the jury". He went on to prosecute Fred
and Rosemary West
in 1995 for the murders at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester.
Leveson became a Bencher
in 1995, acted as a Recorder
between 1988 and 2000, and as a Deputy High Court Judge between 1998 and 2000. In 2000, Leveson was appointed as a Judge of the High Court, Queen's Bench Division, and served as a Presiding Judge of the Northern Circuit between 2002–2005. While sitting with Lord Justice Mantell in the Court of Appeal in 2002 under the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, he upheld the murder conviction of James Hanratty
. He also presided over the trial of ex-US Marine Toby Studebaker
for charges relating to child grooming over the internet. He refused to imprison 100-year-old Bernard Heginbotham, who was found guilty of euthanasia
on his wife of 67 years, 87-year-old Ida, because she faced spending the remainder of her life in the dementia
ward of a nursing home. He also presided over the trial of Michael Barton, who was found guilty in 2005 of murdering Anthony Walker with an axe.
In 2005, Leveson was appointed to the new position of Deputy Senior Presiding Judge and, in October 2006, he was made a Lord Justice of Appeal
. In November 2007, while sitting under the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
, Lord Phillips
and alongside Mr Justice Simon
in the Court of Appeal, the three quashed the conviction of Barry George
and ordered a retrial in relation to the murder in 2001 of BBC presenter Jill Dando
. He was also appointed a Privy Counsellor in 2006.
into issues of media regulation raised by the News International phone hacking scandal. On 20 July, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the scope of the inquiry had widened to include the BBC and social media.
It was subsequently reported in the media that Leveson had attended two parties in the prior 12 months at the London home of Matthew Freud
, a PR executive married to Elisabeth Murdoch
, the daughter of Rupert Murdoch
. These revelations led to a number of Labour MPs calling for Leveson to be removed from the Inquiry.
QC
In Commonwealth countries, QC refers to Queen's Counsel, a distinguished and experienced legal practitioner.QC may also refer to:* Quebec Canada Post provincial abbreviation...
(ˈlɛvɨsən; born 22 June 1949), previously styled as the Honourable Mr Justice Leveson, now styled as the Right Honourable Lord Justice Leveson, is an English Judge, a Lord Justice of Appeal
Lord Justice of Appeal
A Lord Justice of Appeal is an ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, and represents the second highest level of judge in the courts of England and Wales-Appointment:...
for England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and, since 2010, head of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales
Sentencing Council
The Sentencing Council for England and Wales was established in April 2010, replacing the Sentencing Guidelines Council and the Sentencing Advisory Panel, its predecessor bodies....
.
It was announced on 13 July 2011 that Lord Justice Leveson would lead the Leveson Inquiry
Leveson Inquiry
The Leveson Inquiry is an ongoing public inquiry into the culture, practices and ethics of the British press following the News International phone hacking scandal. On 6 July 2011, Prime Minister David Cameron announced to Parliament that a public government inquiry would convene to further...
, a public inquiry
Public inquiry
A Tribunal of Inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body in Common Law countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Canada. Such a public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more...
into the regulation of the media prompted by the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
phone hacking affair
News of the World phone hacking affair
The News International phone-hacking scandal is an ongoing controversy involving mainly the News of the World but also other British tabloid newspapers published by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation. Employees of the newspaper were accused of engaging in phone hacking, police...
.
Early life
Born in LiverpoolLiverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, Leveson was educated at Liverpool College, before going up to Merton College, Oxford
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
.
Career
Leveson was called to the Bar at Middle TempleMiddle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
in 1970. He initially practised in Liverpool and took silk in 1986. In 1989, he led the prosecution of Ken Dodd
Ken Dodd
Kenneth Arthur Dodd OBE is a British comedian and singer songwriter, famous for his frizzy hair or “fluff dom” and buck teeth or “denchers”, his favourite cleaner, the feather duster and his greeting "How tickled I am!", as well as his send-off “Lots and Lots of Happiness!”...
for tax evasion. Dodd, who was represented by George Carman QC
George Carman
George Alfred Carman, QC , was a leading English barrister of the 1980s and 1990s. He first came to the attention of the general public in 1979, when he successfully defended the former Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe after he was charged with conspiracy to murder...
, was acquitted after a three-week trial. Leading judge Sir Ronald Waterhouse QC
Ronald Waterhouse
Sir Ronald Waterhouse, GBE, QC was a retired High Court judge who led a three-year inquiry into the Wales child abuse scandal in the 1990s. Ronald Gough Waterhouse was born in Holywell, Flintshire, Wales, UK...
later commented in an interview on Leveson's performance in the courtroom that "he lost the mood of the case, and he certainly lost the jury". He went on to prosecute Fred
Fred West
Frederick Walter Stephen West , was a British serial killer. Between 1967 and 1987, he alone, and later, he and his wife Rosemary, tortured, raped and murdered at least 11 young women and girls, many at the couple's homes. The majority of the murders occurred between May 1973 and September 1979 at...
and Rosemary West
Rosemary West
Rosemary Pauline "Rose" West is a British serial killer, now an inmate at HMP Low Newton, Brasside, Durham, after being convicted of 10 murders in 1995...
in 1995 for the murders at 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester.
Leveson became a Bencher
Bencher
A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can be elected while still a barrister , in recognition of the contribution that the barrister has made to the life of the Inn or to the law...
in 1995, acted as a Recorder
Recorder (judge)
A Recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales. It now refers to two quite different appointments. The ancient Recorderships of England and Wales now form part of a system of Honorary Recorderships which are filled by the most senior full-time circuit judges...
between 1988 and 2000, and as a Deputy High Court Judge between 1998 and 2000. In 2000, Leveson was appointed as a Judge of the High Court, Queen's Bench Division, and served as a Presiding Judge of the Northern Circuit between 2002–2005. While sitting with Lord Justice Mantell in the Court of Appeal in 2002 under the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, he upheld the murder conviction of James Hanratty
James Hanratty
James Hanratty , a petty criminal with no history of violence, was the eighth-to-last person in the United Kingdom to be hanged after being convicted of the murder of Michael Gregsten at Deadman's Hill on the A6, near the village of Clophill, Bedfordshire, England, on 23 August 1961...
. He also presided over the trial of ex-US Marine Toby Studebaker
Toby Studebaker
Toby Studebaker was a former U.S. Marine who abducted a 12-year-old British girl in 2003 after grooming her via the Internet and was jailed for four and a half years....
for charges relating to child grooming over the internet. He refused to imprison 100-year-old Bernard Heginbotham, who was found guilty of euthanasia
Euthanasia in the United Kingdom
Euthanasia is illegal in all countries of the United Kingdom. However, as a devolved matter to the Scottish parliament, it is possible that at some point in the future different laws on euthanasia could apply within the UK.In 1935, Lord Moynihan and Dr...
on his wife of 67 years, 87-year-old Ida, because she faced spending the remainder of her life in the dementia
Dementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
ward of a nursing home. He also presided over the trial of Michael Barton, who was found guilty in 2005 of murdering Anthony Walker with an axe.
In 2005, Leveson was appointed to the new position of Deputy Senior Presiding Judge and, in October 2006, he was made a Lord Justice of Appeal
Lord Justice of Appeal
A Lord Justice of Appeal is an ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, and represents the second highest level of judge in the courts of England and Wales-Appointment:...
. In November 2007, while sitting under the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary and President of the Courts of England and Wales. Historically, he was the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor, but that changed as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005,...
, Lord Phillips
Nicholas Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers
Nicholas Addison Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers, KG PC is the President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Before 1 October 2009 his title was Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. He was Master of the Rolls from 2000 to 2005 and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 2005...
and alongside Mr Justice Simon
Peregrine Simon
Sir Peregrine Charles Hugo Simon , styled The Hon. Mr Justice Simon, is a British High Court judge.-Education/Career:He was educated at Westminster School and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He was called to the Bar, Middle Temple in 1973. He was appointed as Queen's Counsel in 1991; as a Bencher in 1999...
in the Court of Appeal, the three quashed the conviction of Barry George
Barry George
Barry Michael George is a British man who was wrongly convicted on 2 July 2001 of the murder of British television presenter Jill Dando. His murder conviction was judged unsafe by the Court of Appeal and was quashed on 15 November 2007...
and ordered a retrial in relation to the murder in 2001 of BBC presenter Jill Dando
Jill Dando
Jill Wendy Dando was an English journalist, television presenter and newsreader who worked for the BBC for 14 years. She was murdered by gunshot outside her home in Fulham, West London; her killer has never been identified....
. He was also appointed a Privy Counsellor in 2006.
Public inquiry into media behaviour
It was announced on 13 July 2011 that Leveson would lead the public inquiryPublic inquiry
A Tribunal of Inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body in Common Law countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Canada. Such a public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more...
into issues of media regulation raised by the News International phone hacking scandal. On 20 July, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the scope of the inquiry had widened to include the BBC and social media.
It was subsequently reported in the media that Leveson had attended two parties in the prior 12 months at the London home of Matthew Freud
Matthew Freud
Matthew Freud is head of Freud Communications, an international public relations firm in the United Kingdom.-Biography:...
, a PR executive married to Elisabeth Murdoch
Elisabeth Murdoch (businesswoman)
Elisabeth Murdoch is an executive in the British television industry and a daughter of international media mogul Rupert Murdoch...
, the daughter of Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
. These revelations led to a number of Labour MPs calling for Leveson to be removed from the Inquiry.
Personal life
Leveson and his wife Lynne, who is also from Liverpool, are devout Jews. The couple have three children and live in London.External links
- www.debretts.co.uk
- Council members at the Sentencing CouncilSentencing CouncilThe Sentencing Council for England and Wales was established in April 2010, replacing the Sentencing Guidelines Council and the Sentencing Advisory Panel, its predecessor bodies....
- Speeches at the Judiciary of England and WalesJudiciary of England and WalesThere are various levels of judiciary in England and Wales — different types of courts have different styles of judges. They also form a strict hierarchy of importance, in line with the order of the courts in which they sit, so that judges of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales are generally...
- Brian Leveson collected news and commentary at The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...