APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT ASSESSOR OF COMPENSATION FOR MISCARRIAGES OF JUSTICE FOR ENGLAND AND WALES

24 Jul 2001 12:00 AM

Lord Daniel Brennan of Bibury QC has been appointed to succeed Sir David Calcutt QC as the independent assessor of compensation for miscarriages of justice for England and Wales. The appointment takes effect from 27 July 2001.

A former member of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board (1989-97), Lord Brennan was a founding member and first Chairman of the Personal Injury Bar Association (1995).

Announcing the appointment Home Secretary David Blunkett said:

''I am very grateful to Sir David Calcutt for his contribution over the past twelve years during which the level of public interest in miscarriages of justice has grown significantly.

''It is important that applicants and the public should have confidence in the judgement of the independent assessor and I am delighted that we have found someone of Lord Brennan''s calibre and extensive experience to fill the role.''

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

1. Under Section 133(4) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, if the Secretary of State determines that there is a right to compensation for a miscarriage of justice, an independent assessor must assess the amount of compensation awarded.

2. Lord Brennan was selected through an open and equal competition process in line with the guidance of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. His appointment was made on the advice of an advisory panel with an independent member.

3. Lord Brennan was born on 19 March 1942 and is married with four sons. He was called to the Bar in 1967, became a QC in 1985, a Deputy High Court Judge in 1994 and Chairman of the General Council of the Bar of England and Wales in 1999. He was created a Life Peer in May 2000 and sits on the Labour benches. He has authorship or editorship of several books and has made numerous contributions to legal journals.

4. Lord Brennan is currently in full-time practice as a Queen''s Counsel specialising in Common Law. He is a member of House of Lords Select Committee on the European Union and its Sub-Committee on European Law and Institutions. He is also a member of the Advisory Council of the Environmental Law Foundation, an honorary member of the Consortium for Street Children UK, a Governor of the Expert Witness Institute and a patron of the Peru Support Group.

5. Lord Brennan''s appointment was announced in response to a Parliamentary Question from Baroness Howells of St David''s. It will run from 27 July 2001 to 26 July 2006.