Nigel Bridge, Baron Bridge of Harwich
Encyclopedia
Nigel Cyprian Bridge, Baron Bridge of Harwich PC
(26 February 1917 – 20 November 2007) was a British
barrister and judge. Bridge was the presiding judge at the trial of the Birmingham six
in 1975, the verdict of which was quashed by the Court of Appeal in 1991, and he later served as a Law Lord.
. His mother was the daughter of a cotton manufacturer from Lancashire. His parents separated shortly after his birth and he never knew his father. Bridge followed his elder brother, Antony Bridge
, to Marlborough College
, winning a scholarship. His brother was later a painter before becoming a Church of England
priest and latterly Dean of Guildford Cathedral
.
Bridge left Marlborough aged 17, and spent time in Europe, where he learned French and German. He worked as a journalist on regional newspapers in Lancashire, and wrote an unpublished novel. He volunteered to join the Fleet Air Arm
before the Second World War
broke out, but was rejected as being colour blind. He was conscripted into the British Army
in 1940, serving in the King's Royal Rifle Corps
and reaching the rank of Captain
before being demobilised in 1946. He married to Margaret Swinbank, daughter of Leonard Heseltine Swinbank, since 1944. They had three children, two daughters and one son. His wife died in 2006.
at Inner Temple
in 1947, having achieved the first place in that year's bar exams. He became a pupil of Martin Jukes, and then practised as a Barrister-at-Law at 3 Temple Gardens from 1950, in the chambers headed by Lord Widgery, undertaking mainly personal injury work, but also town and country planning and local government law. He was made a Bencher
at Inner Temple in 1964. He was later Reader in 1986 and Treasurer in 1986.
From 1964 to 1968, he was Junior Counsel to the Treasury in Common Law (also known as "Treasury Devil"), as a sure route to the bench. He became a High Court Judge
in 1968, joining the Queen's Bench Division, and was knighted. He was Presiding Judge of the Western Circuit from 1972 to 1974.
Bridge was the presiding judge at the trial of the Birmingham six
, who were accused of bombings in Birmingham
in November 1974. In his last case before he joined the Court of Appeal, his summing up was criticised as being biased against the defendants, with him saying that there was "the clearest and most overwhelming evidence I have ever heard in a case of murder". The defendants served 16 years in prison before the convictions were quashed by the Court of Appeal in 1991 due to new evidence emerging - principally, that the defendants had been beaten by the police to secure their confessions (similar claims having been dismissed by Bridge at the original trial).
He became a Lord Justice of Appeal
in 1975, and became a Privy Counsellor
. He was a member of the Security Commission
from 1977 and 1985, serving as chairman between 1982 and 1985, in which capacity he published a report into the vetting of staff at Buckingham Palace
. He also conducted inquiries following the cases of Geoffrey Prime
, Michael Bettaney
and Rhona Ritchie.
He became a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
in 1980, and was created a life peer
with the title Baron Bridge of Harwich, of Harwich, in the County of Essex
. He was the only Law Lord without a university degree. He was mooted as a successor to Lord Widgery as Lord Chief Justice in 1979, and to Lord Denning as Master of the Rolls
in 1982, but did not secure either position.
He joined Lord Oliver of Aylmerton in dissenting from the majority decision in the Spycatcher
case in 1987. He criticised the government's case to prevent publication of the contents of Peter Wright
's book as "ridiculous". He supported the majority decision in the Gillick
case on medical consent in 1985, and in the McLoughlin v O'Brian case on recovery of damages for nervous shock
.
degree from the Open University
in 2003, aged 86. He was an Honorary Fellow of Wolfson College
, Cambridge
from 1989 and chairman of the Church of England Synodical Government Review from 1993 to 1997.
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
(26 February 1917 – 20 November 2007) was a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
barrister and judge. Bridge was the presiding judge at the trial of the Birmingham six
Birmingham Six
The Birmingham Six were six men—Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Joseph Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power and John Walker—sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 in the United Kingdom for the Birmingham pub bombings. Their convictions were declared unsafe and quashed by the Court of...
in 1975, the verdict of which was quashed by the Court of Appeal in 1991, and he later served as a Law Lord.
Early and private life
Bridge's father was Commander Cyprian Bridge of the Royal NavyRoyal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
. His mother was the daughter of a cotton manufacturer from Lancashire. His parents separated shortly after his birth and he never knew his father. Bridge followed his elder brother, Antony Bridge
Antony Bridge
The Very Reverend Antony Cyprian Bridge was a British artist who became a Church of England priest. He was Dean of Guildford Cathedral for 18 years, from 1968 to 1986. He was widely recognised for his brilliant and unconventional preaching.Bridge's father was Royal Navy Commander Cyprian...
, to Marlborough College
Marlborough College
Marlborough College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils, located in Marlborough, Wiltshire.Founded in 1843 for the education of the sons of Church of England clergy, the school now accepts both boys and girls of all beliefs. Currently there are just over 800...
, winning a scholarship. His brother was later a painter before becoming a Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
priest and latterly Dean of Guildford Cathedral
Guildford Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of the Holy Spirit, Guildford is the Anglican cathedral at Guildford, Surrey, England.-Construction:Guildford was made a diocese in its own right in 1927, and work on its new cathedral, designed by Sir Edward Maufe, began nine years later, with the foundation stone being laid...
.
Bridge left Marlborough aged 17, and spent time in Europe, where he learned French and German. He worked as a journalist on regional newspapers in Lancashire, and wrote an unpublished novel. He volunteered to join the Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...
before the Second World War
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out, but was rejected as being colour blind. He was conscripted into the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in 1940, serving in the King's Royal Rifle Corps
King's Royal Rifle Corps
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was a British Army infantry regiment, originally raised in colonial North America as the Royal Americans, and recruited from American colonists. Later ranked as the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire...
and reaching the rank of Captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
before being demobilised in 1946. He married to Margaret Swinbank, daughter of Leonard Heseltine Swinbank, since 1944. They had three children, two daughters and one son. His wife died in 2006.
Legal career
Bridge was called to the BarBar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
at Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
in 1947, having achieved the first place in that year's bar exams. He became a pupil of Martin Jukes, and then practised as a Barrister-at-Law at 3 Temple Gardens from 1950, in the chambers headed by Lord Widgery, undertaking mainly personal injury work, but also town and country planning and local government law. He was made 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...
at Inner Temple in 1964. He was later Reader in 1986 and Treasurer in 1986.
From 1964 to 1968, he was Junior Counsel to the Treasury in Common Law (also known as "Treasury Devil"), as a sure route to the bench. He became a High Court Judge
High Court judge
A High Court judge is a judge of the High Court of Justice, and represents the third highest level of judge in the courts of England and Wales. High Court judges are referred to as puisne judges...
in 1968, joining the Queen's Bench Division, and was knighted. He was Presiding Judge of the Western Circuit from 1972 to 1974.
Bridge was the presiding judge at the trial of the Birmingham six
Birmingham Six
The Birmingham Six were six men—Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Joseph Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power and John Walker—sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 in the United Kingdom for the Birmingham pub bombings. Their convictions were declared unsafe and quashed by the Court of...
, who were accused of bombings in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
in November 1974. In his last case before he joined the Court of Appeal, his summing up was criticised as being biased against the defendants, with him saying that there was "the clearest and most overwhelming evidence I have ever heard in a case of murder". The defendants served 16 years in prison before the convictions were quashed by the Court of Appeal in 1991 due to new evidence emerging - principally, that the defendants had been beaten by the police to secure their confessions (similar claims having been dismissed by Bridge at the original trial).
He became 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 1975, and became a Privy Counsellor
Privy council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
. He was a member of the Security Commission
Security Commission
The Security Commission is a UK non-departmental public body established in 1964 to investigate breaches of security in the public sector.Current members are:*The Rt Hon Lady Justice Butler-Sloss, DBE...
from 1977 and 1985, serving as chairman between 1982 and 1985, in which capacity he published a report into the vetting of staff at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
. He also conducted inquiries following the cases of Geoffrey Prime
Geoffrey Prime
Geoffrey Prime is a British former spy for the Soviet Union while working for the Royal Air Force and later for Government Communications Headquarters, the British cryptography agency, during the 1960s and 1970s...
, Michael Bettaney
Michael Bettaney
Michael John Bettaney was an intelligence officer working in the Counter-espionage branch of MI5 who was convicted at the Old Bailey in 1984 of offences under section 1 of the Official Secrets Act 1911 after passing sensitive documents to the Soviet Embassy in London and attempting to act as an...
and Rhona Ritchie.
He became a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary
Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the House of Lords of the United Kingdom in order to exercise its judicial functions, which included acting as the highest court of appeal for most domestic matters...
in 1980, and was created a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
with the title Baron Bridge of Harwich, of Harwich, in the County of Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. He was the only Law Lord without a university degree. He was mooted as a successor to Lord Widgery as Lord Chief Justice in 1979, and to Lord Denning as Master of the Rolls
Master of the Rolls
The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the second most senior judge in England and Wales, after the Lord Chief Justice. The Master of the Rolls is the presiding officer of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal...
in 1982, but did not secure either position.
He joined Lord Oliver of Aylmerton in dissenting from the majority decision in the Spycatcher
Spycatcher
Spycatcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer , is a book written by Peter Wright, former MI5 officer and Assistant Director, and co-author Paul Greengrass. It was published first in Australia...
case in 1987. He criticised the government's case to prevent publication of the contents of Peter Wright
Peter Wright
Peter Maurice Wright was an English scientist and former MI5 counterintelligence officer, noted for writing the controversial book Spycatcher, which became an international bestseller with sales of over two million copies...
's book as "ridiculous". He supported the majority decision in the Gillick
Gillick
Gillick may refer to:*Victoria Gillick a Catholic family campaigner*Gillick competence, a term in medical law*David Gillick, Irish track and field athlete*Ernest Gillick, British sculptor*James Gillick, British artist*Liam Gillick, British artist...
case on medical consent in 1985, and in the McLoughlin v O'Brian case on recovery of damages for nervous shock
Nervous shock
Nervous shock is a term used in English law to denote psychiatric illness or injury inflicted upon a person by intentional or negligent actions or omissions of another. It is most often applied to psychiatric disorders triggered by witnessing an accident, for example an injury caused to one's...
.
Later life
His retirement from the bench in 1992 was compulsory, having reached 75 years old. He studied mathematical sciences in his retirement, partly to show that he retained his cognitive abilities, and obtained a Bachelor of ScienceBachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree from the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
in 2003, aged 86. He was an Honorary Fellow of Wolfson College
Wolfson College, Cambridge
Wolfson College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Wolfson is one of a small number of Cambridge colleges which admit only students over the age of 21. The majority of students at the college are postgraduates, with around 15% studying undergraduate...
, Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
from 1989 and chairman of the Church of England Synodical Government Review from 1993 to 1997.
Cases
- R v McIlkenney (1975)
- SpycatcherSpycatcherSpycatcher: The Candid Autobiography of a Senior Intelligence Officer , is a book written by Peter Wright, former MI5 officer and Assistant Director, and co-author Paul Greengrass. It was published first in Australia...
case (1987) - McLoughlin v O'Brian [1983] 1 AC 410
- Miles v Wakefield Borough Council [1987] AC 539
- Wilsher v Essex Area Health Authority [1988] AC 1074
- Caparo Industries Plc. v DickmanCaparo Industries Plc. v DickmanCaparo Industries plc v Dickman [1990] is a leading English tort law case on the test for a duty of care. The House of Lords, following the Court of Appeal, set out a "three-fold test"...
[1990] 2 AC 605 - R v Secretary of State for Transport ex parte Factortame Ltd (No 2) [1990] 2 AC 85
- Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire [1992] AC 310
- Murphy v Brentwood DC [1991] AC 398
- Abbey National Building Society v CannAbbey National Building Society v CannAbbey National Building Society v Cann [1990] is an English land law case concerning the right of a person with an equitable interest in a home to remain in actual occupation, if a bank has a charge and is seeking repossession...
[1991] 1 AC 56 - Lloyds Bank plc v Rosset [1991] 1 AC 107