The Rt Hon Dominic Grieve QC MP
Dominic Grieve was first elected as MP for Beaconsfield in 1997, entering Parliament from a career as a barrister and having served as a councillor in Hammersmith and in the Territorial Army. He was appointed to the opposition front bench in 1999 as spokesman on Constitutional affairs and moved to the Home affairs team covering criminal justice in 2001 before being made shadow Attorney General by Michael Howard in 2003. In 2008 he was made shadow Home Secretary and shadow Justice Secretary in 2009. After the General Election of 2010 he was appointed a Privy Councillor and Attorney General holding that office until July 2014. Mr Grieve is currently a member of the Standards and Privileges Committee of the House of Commons. In September 2015, Mr Grieve was elected Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee.
His work in Parliament on civil liberties and the Rule of Law was recognised by two awards - Parliamentarian of the Year in 2005 and in 2014 by a Lifetime Achievement award from Liberty. He has specialised on issues relating to Law and Order, civil liberties and international affairs as well as having an interest in environmental issues.
He is married to Caroline, also a barrister and they have two sons. He has been a deputy church warden. He is bilingual in French, enjoys mountain walking, scuba diving, skiing and architecture in his spare time.
Dominic Grieve: My work in Parliament
As Attorney General I had a unique role in government. It was my task to help my colleagues achieve their policy goals and to uphold the Rule of law in all we did by providing sound legal advice. I also superintended the Crown Prosecution Service and helped ensure that it increased in efficiency whilst making savings of 30% in its budget in response to the economic crisis.
I am pleased that CPS was able to achieve these goals and has maintained a steady overall improvement in conviction rates particularly in areas such as sexual offences and domestic violence. It was also a privilege to be able to work in Cabinet and on the National Security Council to help ensure our nation’s safety. I am happy in having been part of a government that has achieved much in restoring our economic wellbeing and protecting our security. My work has required me to travel widely, to build cooperative international relationships to improve the fight against serious crime and terrorism.
As Attorney General I was also involved in ensuring that the balance of freedom of expression against that of the right to a fair trial is observed by the press; that a fresh inquest took place over the Hillsborough disaster and that unduly lenient sentences were reviewed by the Court of Appeal. This aspect of my work had to be free of all party political considerations.
Since leaving ministerial office I have concentrated on the current debate on balancing civil liberties and human rights with security. I believe this can be achieved, while honouring our international obligations under the European Convention of Human rights and I will continue to promote this.
I am also a passionate believer in the unity of our country, and I wish to see our Union preserved.