This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 2.99.27.12 (talk) at 15:25, 22 August 2022 (→House of Lords standards investigation). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 15:25, 22 August 2022 by 2.99.27.12 (talk) (→House of Lords standards investigation)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) English barrister and Queen's Counsel
| The Right HonourableThe Lord FaulksQC | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Minister of State for Civil Justice and Legal Policy | |
| In office 20 January 2014 – 19 July 2016 | |
| Prime Minister | David Cameron |
| Preceded by | The Lord McNally |
| Succeeded by | No appointment |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 21 July 2010 Life Peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edward Peter Lawless Faulks (1950-08-19) 19 August 1950 (age 74) |
| Nationality | English |
| Political party | Unaffiliated (formerly Conservative) |
| Spouse | Catherine Frances Turner |
| Children | 2 |
| Occupation | Barrister |
Edward Peter Lawless Faulks, Baron Faulks, QC (born 19 August 1950), is an English barrister and unaffiliated peer who is the current Chairman of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). Formerly a Conservative peer, he was Minister of State for Justice between December 2013 and July 2016.
Background and education
Faulks is the son of His Honour Peter Ronald Faulks MC, a circuit judge, and Pamela Faulks (née Lawless). The novelist Sebastian Faulks is his younger brother. His uncle was Sir Neville Faulks, a High Court judge.
He was educated at Wellington College and Jesus College, Oxford, where he graduated with an MA and of which he is an honorary fellow.
Career
Faulks was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1973. He became a Queen's Counsel in 1996, an Assistant Recorder in 1996, and a Recorder in 2000. He became a Bencher of the Middle Temple in 2002.
Faulks was chairman of the Professional Negligence Bar Association from 2002 to 2004, special adviser to the Department for Constitutional Affairs on compensation culture from 2005 to 2006, and head of research for the Society of Conservative Lawyers from 2010 to 2012. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He was a literary agent at Curtis Brown from 1980 to 1981.
In 2010 he was created a life peer as Baron Faulks, of Donnington in the Royal County of Berkshire. In December 2013 it was announced that with effect from 20 January 2014 Faulks would become a Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice. He served in this role until July 2016, when he resigned from the government in protest against the appointment of Liz Truss as Secretary of State for Justice by new prime minister Theresa May.
Lord Faulks was appointed a Justice at the Astana International Financial Centre Court in Astana, Kazakhstan, in 2018.
Since January 2020, he has been Chairman of the Independent Press Standards Organisation, the independent regulator of the majority of newspapers and magazines in the UK.
In July 2020, Faulks was appointed chairman of the Independent Review of Administrative Law. The panel submitted its report in January 2021.
Other activities
Faulks is a contributing editor to Local Authority Liabilities, 1998, 4th edition 2009. He is on the board of the social enterprise Liberty Kitchen, set up to reduce recidivism at Pentonville Prison.
Personal life
Lord Faulks married Catherine Frances Turner, daughter of Lindsay Turner and Anthea Cadbury, in 1990. They have two sons. Catherine Faulks is a Conservative councillor on Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council.
House of Lords standards investigation
In July 2022 the House of Lords Standards Commissioners began investigating a complaint that Lord Faulks had impeded an investigation by the Independent Press Standards Organisation of a complaint that the Daily Telegraph had published a story by Gabriella Swerling and Camilla Tominey falsely alleging that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had lied about the date of their marriage. Against Mrs Tominey only it was complained that during an abusive telephone call which she initiated several months later her excuse was "I don't write the headlines." IPSO had ruled in March 2022 that it could not act because the originating application had been lodged outside the four-month time limit, but the case number quoted was consistent with it having been lodged in July 2021.
During the evidence phase it was established, inter alia,
- "The IPSO ruling of 29th March 2022, made nearly a month after the Organisation had allegedly considered the matter, appears to have been signed off during a Board meeting (part of which was held in camera) earlier that morning attended by ."
- "The Times received 1,500 pounds cash on 18th March 2022 which it never passed through its books. Of that money, 250 pounds is Value-Added Tax which it should have passed to the government."
- "The Guardian received 540 pounds cash on 18th March 2022 which it never passed through its books. Of that money, 90 pounds is Value-Added Tax which should have been passed to the government. A Statement of Account dated 30th April 2022 was ignored."
- "The Daily Telegraph received 1,284 pounds cash on 18th March 2022 which it never passed through its books. Of that money, 214 pounds is Value-Added Tax which it should have passed to the government."
It was noted that one of Lord Faulk's given names is "Lawless." The payments, totalling 3,324 pounds in all, were made on behalf of the Ecclesiastical Law Society. The name of William Adam, a senior officer, was expunged from the Society's records. Then in July 2022 Dr Adam began claiming that he was Archdeacon of Canterbury, and that his dog was "Archdog of Canterbury" because he was "disobedient." However, official diocesan records do not mention him . Furthermore, immediately upon enthronement the Archdeacon is registered with the Charity Commission as Trustee of the Canterbury Diocesan Board of Finance and with the Registrar of Companies as Director of the same organisation. Official records do not mention him , . In August 2022, noting that both the Canterbury Diocesan Board of Finance and the Ecclesiastical Law Society are registered charities, and the Independent Press Standards Organisation can register as a charity at will, the Commissioners began deliberating whether the matter should be referred to the Charity Commission for an official investigation.
References
- "Honorary Fellows | Jesus College, University of Oxford". www.jesus.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
- "No. 59497". The London Gazette. 26 July 2010. p. 14201.
- "Ministerial changes: December 2013". 18 December 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
- Gibb, Frances (19 July 2016). "Justice minister quits with blast at 'novice' lord chancellor". The Times. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
- Gibb, Frances. "UK judges head new court in Kazakhstan". www.thetimes.co.uk.
- "Eminent QC appointed as IPSO Chairman". www.ipso.co.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- "Our Board". www.libertykitchen.org. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
- "Lord Feldman's failure to vote leaves Faulks furious". The Daily Telegraph.
- "Cllr Catherine Faulks". RBKC. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
- Who's who 2011 (163rd ed.). London: A. & C. Black. 2010. ISBN 978-1-4081-2856-5.
External links
| Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byThe Lord Beecham | Gentlemen The Lord Faulks |
Followed byThe Lord Allan of Hallam |
- 1950 births
- Living people
- People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire
- Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford
- British barristers
- Conservative Party (UK) life peers
- Life peers created by Elizabeth II
- Members of the Middle Temple
- Queen's Counsel 1901–2000
- Queen's Counsel 2001–
- Government ministers of the United Kingdom
- Life peers
- Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford