Anthony Paul Lester,
Baron Lester of Herne Hill,
QCQueen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(born July 3, 1936) is a
BritishThe 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...
politicianA politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and member of the
House of LordsThe House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, and a member of the Liberal Democrats.
Born into a Jewish family, he was educated at the
City of London SchoolThe City of London School is a boys' independent day school on the banks of the River Thames in the City of London, England. It is the brother school of the City of London School for Girls and the co-educational City of London Freemen's School...
, and then studied history and law at
Trinity College, CambridgeTrinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
and
Harvard Law SchoolHarvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
. In the 1960s and 1970s Lester was directly involved with the movement to form race relations legislation in Britain. During these periods, he acted as the chair of the legal subcommittee of the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination (C.A.R.D.) and was a member of several organizations working for racial equality such as the Society of Labour Lawyers,
Fabian SocietyThe Fabian Society is a British socialist movement, whose purpose is to advance the principles of democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist, rather than revolutionary, means. It is best known for its initial ground-breaking work beginning late in the 19th century and continuing up to World...
, Council of the Institute of Race Relations, British Overseas Socialist Fellowship and the National Committee for Commonwealth Immigrants. In 1968, he co-founded the
Runnymede TrustThe Runnymede Trust is a leading pro-multiculturalism think tank., Its aim is to generate intelligence for a "multi-ethnic" Britain through research, network building and policy engagement...
left-wing think-tank with
Jim RoseEliot Joseph Benn 'Jim' Rose was a British intelligence officer, journalist and campaigner.Born into an "elite" Jewish family, Rose was educated at Rugby School and New College, Oxford....
. He was a special advisor to
Roy JenkinsRoy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
at the
Home OfficeThe Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
in the 1970s, and moved with Jenkins from the
Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
to found the
SDPThe Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams...
in 1981. He was Chairman of the Runnymede Trust from 1991 to 1993.
He was created
Baron Lester of Herne Hill, of
Herne HillHerne Hill is located in the London Borough of Lambeth and the London Borough of Southwark in Greater London. There is a road of the same name which continues the A215 north of Norwood Road and was called Herne Hill Road.-History:...
in the
London Borough of SouthwarkThe London Borough of Southwark is a London borough in south east London, England. It is directly south of the River Thames and the City of London, and forms part of Inner London.-History:...
in 1993. As a
barristerA barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
he works from
Blackstone ChambersBlackstone Chambers is a leading set of barristers chambers in the Temple district of central London. Established in the 1950s, it has 85 tenants, of whom 34 are Silks...
. He was appointed Adjunct Professor of the Faculty of Law at University College Cork (Ireland) in 2005.
On 29 June 2007, Lord Lester was appointed by
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Gordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
as a special advisor on constitutional reform to the Secretary of State for Justice. He is a member of the
Joint Committee on Human RightsThe Joint Committee on Human Rights is a select committee of both the House of Commons and House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
.
Lester is a patron of the
Family Planning AssociationFPA is a UK registered charity working to enable people to make informed choices about sex and to enjoy sexual health. It is the national affiliate for the International Planned Parenthood Federation in the United Kingdom. It celebrated its 80th anniversary in 2010...
, previously called the National Birth Control Committee. He represented the FPA in a contentious case in
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
where it was widely claimed that the FPA were trying to use strategic litigation to introduce liberalised abortion laws into the country.
External links
- Odysseus Trust - supporting the work of Anthony Lester in the House of Lords.