Meet the judges

The 2008 judging panel

Vera Baird QC MP: Solicitor General; Vera Baird QC MP was appointed as the Solicitor General on the 2nd July 2007 by the Prime Minister.; In 2006 Ms Baird was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary in the Department for Constitutional Affairs, now the Ministry of Justice. Her responsibilities included the reform of the legal aid system. She was also the minister responsible for equalities, civil justice, social exclusion, women and sentencing. She was previously Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Home Secretary.; Vera Baird was born in Oldham. She was widowed in 1979 and has two stepsons. She attended Chadderton Grammar School followed by Northumbria University where she obtained an LLB. In 1975 she was called to the Bar in Gray's Inn and received silk in 2000. In 1983 she obtained a BA in Literature and Modern History and is currently working on a MPhil at Teesside University.; Ms Baird has been the member of Parliament for Redcar since 2001.
Vernon Coaker MP: Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Crime Reduction, the Home Office; Before taking up his post at the Home Office, Mr Coaker was a government whip from June 2003.; He was previously Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Tessa Jowell, Minister for Culture, Media and Sport, and was also PPS to Estelle Morris when she was Secretary of State for Education. Mr Coaker has been MP for Gedling in Nottinghamshire since 1997.; He is one of UNICEF's 'Special Friends' in Parliament, and has visited Kosovo, Macedonia and Angola to see the work being done there.; Before becoming an MP, Vernon Coaker was Deputy Headteacher at Bigwood School in Nottingham. He is married to Jackie, and they have a daughter and a son. His interests include sport, walking in the countryside and keeping up with the media.
Sir Suma Chakrabarti: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice; Suma Chakrabarti was appointed Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice on 15 November 2007.; He began his career as an economist in the Botswana Government, joining the Overseas Development Administration (now the Department for International Development) in 1984. From 1996 to 2001 Suma worked in the Treasury, where he created the system of Public Service Agreements and at the Cabinet Office, where he headed the Economic and Domestic Affairs Secretariat. He returned to DFID in 2002 as Permanent Secretary.; Suma is married and has one daughter.
Maria Eagle MP: Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice; Maria Eagle was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice on 29 June 2007. Previously, she worked at the Northern Ireland Office (2005-2006) with responsibility for criminal justice and political development and, prior to devolution, also had several other portfolios including education; employment and learning; trade enterprise and investment; and culture, arts, leisure and children.; Her previous posts include Minister for Children, Young People and Families at the Department of Education and Skills (2005-2006), Minister for Disabled People at the Department for Work and Pensions (2001-2005) and Parliamentary Private Secretary to John Hutton as Health Minister (1999-2001).; She was educated at Formby High School; Pembroke College, Oxford; and Lancaster Gate College of Law. Maria qualified as a solicitor in 1992 specialising in employment law, civil personal injury, medical negligence and housing law.; Maria was elected Member of Parliament for Liverpool Garston in 1997.; Her interests include chess, cricket, Liverpool Football Club, cinema and fitness.
Helen Edwards: Director-General, Criminal Justice, Ministry of Justice; On 1 April 2008 Helen became Director General of the MoJ Criminal Justice Group, with responsibility for criminal justice and offender management strategy and the regulation of the offender management system. She was previously Chief Executive of the National Offender Management Service, with overall responsibility for the offender management system and for reducing re-offending in England and Wales (06-08).; Prior to this Helen Edwards was Director General of the Home Office's Communities Group. She was responsible for the Government's work with the voluntary and community sector and for race equality, faith and community cohesion.; Helen originally joined the Home Office in 2002 as the Director of the Active Communities Directorate. Prior to that, she worked at NACRO, the national crime reduction charity, where she did a number of jobs over an 18 year period including spending the last five years as Chief Executive. Before joining NACRO she worked for the Save the Children Fund in the London Borough of Lambeth setting up a pioneering project for young offenders and originally trained and worked as a social worker for East Sussex County Council. She is a Trustee of the Washington based Eisenhower Foundation.; Helen has a first degree in social science from the University of Sussex and a Masters degree from Warwick University. She is also a Fellow of the RSA and has an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Middlesex. In 2001, Helen received a CBE in recognition of her services to offenders.
Tim Godwin: Assistant Commissioner Metropolitan Police; Tim Godwin joined Sussex Police in 1981 and achieved Superintendent Rank by 1992. Appointed Commander within the Metropolitan Police Service in 1999, Tim served as Commander (Crime) for South London, South East Territorial Commander and then Commander Crime for Territorial Policing. He was promoted to Deputy Assistant Commissioner in Territorial Policing in 2001 then to Assistant Commissioner, Territorial Policing a year later. During this time, he has introduced a revitalised forensic strategy, instigated, led the safer Streets initiative and overseen an overhaul of serious sexual assault investigations.; Tim leads for ACPO on Mobile Phone crime and jointly leads with Dennis O'Connor on the National Reassurance Policing Programme. He is currently responsible for the implementation of the Safer Neighbourhoods programme.; In 1991, he received the Royal Humane Society Testimonial for rescuing a man from a high bridge over a railway line, was awarded the runner up prize for Equal Opportunities Achievement in the Police Service by the Home Secretary in 1996, and in 1998 received the National Prize for Public Management Leadership by the Office for Public Management.; Tim is keen rugby fan, having played in younger years and attends matches as and when time permits.; Tim was awarded the OBE in the Queen's New Years Honours List in 2003.
Roger Hill: Director National Probation Service; Roger Hill qualified as a Probation Officer in 1978 and has worked in the Criminal Justice system since, including in six probation areas, Cleveland (prior to it becoming Teesside), Northumbria, West Midlands, Durham, Lincolnshire and London. He became Chief of Lincolnshire in 2001.; Roger was asked to join the Special Performance Improvement Action Team for London in September 2003 having made Lincolnshire the top performing area in the NPS.; He became Deputy Chief of London in April 2004, and Chief in July 2004. During his period as Chief, London's performance improved and for the first time in the history of the National Probation Service, London Probation were not at the bottom of the performance tables.; Roger became Director of the National Probation Service in April 2005 and has driven the performance of the service nationally - which has continued to improve. Committed to the overall performance of the system within the NOMS ENVIRONMENT, Roger is now Senior Responsible Owner for the Offender Management Programme.
Sir Ken Macdonald QC: Director of Public Prosecutions; Sir Ken Macdonald QC was educated at grammar school and at St Edmund Hall Oxford, where he read Politics, Philosophy and Economics, graduating in 1974. He was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1978 and specialised for 25 years in criminal law. His practice ranged from fraud, terrorism and gangland violence to export control violations and corporate advisory work. He took silk in 1997 and became a Recorder of the Crown Court in 2001.; He was elected a member of the Bar Council in 2000 and became vice Chairman of the Bar Public Affairs Group in 2001-2002. He was elected Chairman of the Criminal Bar Association in July 2003. In November 2003, he was appointed Director of Public Prosecutions. He was Knighted in the 2007 New Year's Honours List.
Chris Mayer: Chief Executive, Her Majesty's Courts Service; Chris was appointed Chief Executive of Her Majesty's Courts Service in July 2008.; She began her career in 1975 in the Public Trustee Office, followed by the Probate Division. In 1979 she transferred to Manchester Crown Court and has since worked in various courts and offices in the North West as a Listing Officer, Court Manager and Finance Officer. In 1994 she became Courts Administrator for Lancashire & Cumbria, followed by Greater Manchester and Manchester Central. In April 2001, Chris was appointed Circuit Administrator of the Northern Circuit and on 15 March 2004 she became Regional Director, North West, of the new unified Courts system, Her Majesty's Courts Service.; Chris received her CBE in the Birthday Honours' List 2005 for her contribution to Her Majesty's Courts Service.
Sir David Normington: Permanent Secretary, Home Office; David Normington became Permanent Secretary of the Home Office on 1 January 2006. As Permanent Secretary, David is responsible for the overall running of a Department which has over 20,000 employees and an annual expenditure of over £10 billion.; Before he took up his post at the Home Office, David was, for almost five years, Permanent Secretary at the Department for Education and Skills where he was responsible for advising the Secretary of State for Education and Skills on policies which cover the whole range of children's services, education and training from pre-school to university and workforce skills; for the efficient and effective deployment of a budget of £45 billion; and for leading a Department of 4,000 staff.; David is a graduate of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, where he studied history. He went to Bradford Grammar School and lived in Bradford until he went to University.; David received a CB in the Millennium Honours list and a KCB in the New Year's Honours 2005. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
The Rt. Hon Baroness Scotland of Asthal QC - Chair: Attorney General; Appointed as Attorney General on 28th June 2007 from the Home Office, Baroness Scotland previously had responsibility for Respect, anti-social behaviour policy, crime reduction strategy, youth crime, all legislation in the Lords, domestic violence, the Office for Criminal Justice Reform and criminal law, race equality, international issues and was also the ministerial adviser on legal affairs.; Previously she was Parliamentary Secretary at the Lord Chancellor's Department from 2001 to 2003, and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1999 to 2001. She was also an Alternate UK Government Representative of the European Convention from 2002 to 2003.; After graduating with LLB Hons (London), Patricia Scotland was called to the Bar, Middle Temple, in 1977, received Silk in 1991 and became a Bencher in 1997.; She was founder member and former Head of Chambers of 1 Gray's Inn Square. She has specialised in family and public law and has chaired and represented parties in a number of Inquiries relating to Child Abuse, Mental Health and Housing. She was voted Black Woman of the Year (Law) 1992.; Baroness Scotland was created a peer as Baroness Scotland of Asthal, of Asthal in the County of Oxfordshire, in 1997 and was raised to the Privy Council in July 2001. She married in 1985 and has two sons. She was born in Dominica in 1955.
Jonathan Slater: Chief Executive, OCJR; Jonathan Slater is Chief Executive of the trilateral Office for Criminal Justice Reform, reporting on an equal basis to the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General's Office.; OCJR supports the police, courts, CPS, NOMS and other agencies in order to collaborate both nationally and locally to improve the effectiveness, transparency and responsiveness of the criminal justice system for victims and the public.; Before taking up this post, Jonathan was the Director of Performance & Improvement in the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), helping Ministers set objectives and targets for prisons and probation, and ensuring action is taken where needed to support improvement.; Jonathan oversaw NOMS' work on improving public protection, implementation of end-to-end offender management, and establishing Probation Trusts.; Jonathan joined NOMS from the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit, where he led work on NHS delivery and reform, and set up the Whitehall capability review programme.; Before joining the civil service 6 years ago, Jonathan worked in local government, ending up as Deputy Chief Executive of the London Borough of Islington.
The Rt. Hon Jacqui Smith MP: Home Secretary; Jacqui Smith entered parliament as MP for Redditch, Inkberrow, Feckenham and Cookhill in 1997.; Jacqui grew up in Malvern, Worcestershire before moving to Redditch in 1986. She still lives in Redditch with husband, Richard and sons James and Michael.; A graduate of Hertford College, Oxford, Jacqui took up teaching in 1986 at Arrow Vale High School in Redditch. She taught Business Studies and Economics and became head of economics at Haybridge High School in Hagley before the general election in 1997.; Since becoming an MP Jacqui has served on the Treasury Select Committee and was promoted to government in 1999. As one of the youngest ministers, she served for two years as Parliamentary-Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education. After successfully defending her seat in 2001 she was promoted to Minister of State for Health with responsibility for Social Services. Since then she has been promoted again to be Minister of State at the Department for Trade and Industry, and Deputy Minister for Women.; After the 2005 general election she became Minister of State for Schools. In May 2006 she joined the cabinet as Chief Whip. She became the first female Home Secretary in June 2007.
The Rt. Hon Jack Straw MP: Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice; Jack Straw became Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice on 28 June 2007. Previously, Mr Straw was Leader of the House of Commons and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, serving in that post from June 2001 until May 2006. He was born in 1946 and educated at Brentwood School, Essex, and Leeds University, where he was President of the Students' Union from 1967-1968. He was President of the National Union of Students from 1969-1971.; From 1971 to 1974 Mr Straw was a member of the Inner London Education Authority and Deputy Leader from 1973 to 1974. Called to the Bar in 1972, Mr Straw worked as a barrister from 1972-1974. He was subsequently special adviser to Barbara Castle as Secretary of State for Social Services from 1974-1976 and to Peter Shore as Secretary of State for the Environment from 1976-1977. He also worked for Granada Television's World in Action programme from 1977-1979.; Elected to Parliament to represent the Blackburn constituency in 1979, Mr Straw served on the Opposition front bench from 1980 until 1997.; He was a spokesman on Treasury and Economic Affairs from 1980 to 1983 and on the environment between 1983 and 1987. He was Shadow Education Secretary from 1987 until 1992, Shadow Environment Secretary 1992-94 and Shadow Home Secretary 1994-97. Mr Straw became Home Secretary after the 1997 General Election, serving in the post until 2001 and his appointment to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He is a visiting Fellow of Nuffield College, Oxford and a Fellow of the Royal Statistical Society.; Mr Straw is married with one son and one daughter. His recreations are walking, music, cooking puddings and supporting Blackburn Rovers.
Phil Wheatley: National Offender Management Service Director General; Phil Wheatley joined the Prison Service as a Prison Officer in 1969. The following year he was promoted to Assistant Governor. In 1986, having gained experience in high security and local prisons, he became Governor of Hull Prison. In 1990 he was one of the first Area Managers to be appointed and managed a group of prisons in the East Midlands for 2 years before becoming responsible for security policy, population management and capacity planning at Headquarters. He joined the Prisons Board in 1995 in a newly created post as Director of Dispersal Prisons (in charge of the 6 highest security prisons). In 1999 he became Deputy Director General responsible for the operational Service. In 2003 he was appointed Director General. On 1 April 2008 he was appointed the Director General of the National Offender Management Service.