Helena Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws
Helena Ann Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws (born 12 May 1950), is a Scottish barrister, broadcaster, and Labour member of the House of Lords. She was Principal of Mansfield College, Oxford, from 2011 to 2018. A Bencher of Gray's Inn, an Honorary Writer to the Signet and the recipient of 42 Honorary Degrees from many universities including those of Glasgow and Edinburgh in recognition of work on women and the law and on widening participation in higher education. She is President of Justice, the law reform think tank, and is also director of the International Bar Association's Institute of Human Rights.
The Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2019 | |
| Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University | |
| Assumed office 26 July 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Winston, Baron Winston |
| Principal of Mansfield College, Oxford | |
| In office September 2011 – 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Diana Walford |
| Succeeded by | Helen Mountfield |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 27 October 1997 Life peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Helena Ann Kennedy 12 May 1950 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse |
Iain Louis Hutchison
(m. 1986) |
| Domestic partner | Iain Mitchell (1978–1984) |
| Children | 3 |
| Occupation | Barrister, television presenter |
| Website | helenakennedy |
Early life and education
editKennedy was born on 12 May 1950 in Glasgow, Scotland, one of the four daughters of Mary Veronica (née Jones) and Joshua Patrick Kennedy, nicknamed "Mae" and "Joss", respectively.[1] Her parents were committed Labour activists and devoutly Roman Catholic.[2] Her father, a printer with the Daily Record, was a trade union official.[2]
She attended Holyrood Secondary School in Glasgow, where she was appointed Head Girl. She studied law at the Council of Legal Education in London.[2]
Legal career
editIn 1972, Kennedy was called to the bar at Gray's Inn. Among her many cases, Kennedy acted as junior counsel for child murderer Myra Hindley during her 1974 trial for plotting to escape from Holloway Prison.[3][4]
Politics
editKennedy rebels against her party whip in the House of Lords more frequently than any other Labour Peer, having a dissent rate of 33.3%.[5] She was Chair of Charter 88 (1992–1997) and is closely affiliated to the educational charity Common Purpose. In 2020, she worked with the Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith and democracy activist Luke de Pulford to create the global pressure group Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China.[6] In March 2021, China placed sanctions on her.[7] The sanctions were condemned by the Prime Minister and led the Foreign Secretary to summon the Chinese ambassador.[8][9]
Academia
editKennedy became the first Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, serving from 1994 until 2001. She was elected principal of Mansfield College, Oxford, in July 2010 and served in the role from September 2011.[10] She retired in 2018 and became Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University on 26 July 2018.[11]
Personal life
editFrom 1978 to 1984 she lived with the actor Iain Mitchell, and together they had a son. In 1986, Kennedy married Iain Louis Hutchison, a surgeon, with whom she has a daughter and a son.[2]
Kennedy regularly attends Mass and professes that her Roman Catholicism "remains very much part of who I am", even though she eschews its more traditional values.[2]
In 2023, Kennedy took part in King Charles and Queen Camilla's coronation at Westminster Abbey, carrying the Queen Consort's Rod with Dove.[12]
Honours
editShe has received numerous academic awards, including:
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA)
- Fellow of the City and Guilds of London Institute (FCGI)
- Member of the Académie Universelle des Cultures (Paris)
- Honorary Fellow, Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2005
- Honorary Fellow, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2005
- Honorary Fellow, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies
- Honorary Fellow, Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge, 2010[13]
- Honorary Fellow, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), 2011
- Honorary Doctorate of Law, Plymouth University, 2012[14]
- Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (HonFRSE), 2014[15]
- She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 Women of 2021.[16]
- She was chosen to carry the Queen's Rod in the Royal Procession at the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla.[17]
- She was appointed as a Lady of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle (LT) by King Charles III in 2024.[18][19]
Broadcasting
edit
- Creator: Blind Justice, BBC TV, 1987
- Presenter: Heart of the Matter, BBC TV, 1987
- After Dark, Channel 4 and BBC4, 1987–2003
- Kennedy presented many editions of this series, including the 1991 "Do Men Have To Be Violent" featuring an inebriated Oliver Reed who verbally insulted and attempted to kiss feminist Kate Millett, as well as the 1995 special "Ireland: Sex & Celibacy, Church & State" which included an unscheduled last-minute appearance from singer Sinéad O'Connor.
- Presenter: Raw Deal on Medical Negligence, BBC TV, 1989
- Presenter: The Trial of Lady Chatterley's Lover, BBC Radio 4, 1990
- Presenter: Time Gentlemen, Please, BBC Scotland, 1994 (Winner, Television Programme Award category, 1994 Industrial Journalism Awards)
- Commissioner, BAFTA Inquiry into the future of the BBC, 1990
Appointments
edit
- President, Helena Kennedy Foundation
- President of the Board the Governors of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)[20]
- President, Women of the Year Lunch (2010–2015)[21]
- Chair, JUSTICE
- Chair of the Board of Governors for the United World College of the Atlantic
- President, Medical Aid for Palestinians
- Patron, Burma Campaign UK, the London-based group campaigning for human rights and democracy in Burma
- Member of the Board of Independent News and Media
- Trustee, KPMG Foundation
- Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University (1994–2001)
- Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University (appointed in 2018)[22]
- Chair, British Council (1998–2004)
- Chair, Human Genetics Commission (1998–2007)
- President of the National Children's Bureau (1998–2005)
- Kennedy chaired the Power Commission (November 2005 – March 2006), which examined the problem of democratic disengagement in the United Kingdom. A report was produced which highlighted the "Myth of Apathy" and the lack of political engagement
- Chair of Power 2010, which aimed to carry forward the concepts behind the Power Commission into the UK 2010 General Election
- Member of the World Bank Institute's External Advisory Council
- Member of the board of the British Museum
- Member of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom[23]
- Vice-president of the Haldane Society
- Vice-president of the Association of Women Barristers
- Patron, London International Festival of Theatre[24] liftfestival.com
- Patron, Public Law Project[25]
- Patron, Institute for Learning (IfL) http://www.ifl.ac.uk Archived 19 March 2015 at the Wayback Machine
- Patron, Liberty
- Patron, UNLOCK, The National Association of Ex-Offenders
- Patron, Debt Doctors Foundation UK (DD-UK)
- Patron, Tower Hamlets Summer University
- Patron, Rights Watch (UK)
- Patron of SafeHands for Mothers, a UK-based charity whose mission is to improve maternal and newborn health by harnessing the power of the visual, through the production of films.[26]
- Chair, Howard League's Commission of Inquiry into Violence in Penal Institutions for Young People (the final report, Banged Up, Beaten Up, Cutting Up, published in 1995)
- Chair, Reading Borough Council's Commission of Inquiry into the health, environmental and safety aspects of the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston (final report Secrecy versus Safety, published in 1994)
- Chair, Royal Colleges of Pathologists' and of Pædiatrics' Inquiry into Sudden Infant Death (producing a protocol for the investigation of such deaths in 2004)
- Member of the Foreign Policy Centre's Advisory Council
- Formerly UK member of the International Bar Association's Task Force on Terrorism
- As Commissioner of the National Commission for Education, she chaired a committee on widening participation in further education and the commission's report, Learning Works, published in 1997.
- Chair, Booker Prize Foundation (2015–2020)[27]
- Vice President of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (from 2017)[28]
Civic honours
edit- Created a life peer as Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, of Cathcart in the City of Glasgow on 27 October 1997.[29]
Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic on 23 March 2004.[30]
Commander of the Order of Academic Palms (2006).
Bibliography
edit- Eve was Framed: Women and British Justice, 1993; ISBN 0-09-922441-0
- Just Law: The changing face of justice and why it matters to us, 2004; ISBN 0-09-945833-0
- Eve Was Shamed: How British Justice Is Failing Women, 2018; ISBN 9781784742225
- Misjustice: How British Law is Failing Women, 2019; ISBN 9781784707682
References
edit- ^ "Kennedy of the Shaws, Baroness, (Helena Ann Kennedy) (Born 12 May 1950)". Who's Who. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u22850. ISBN 978-0-19-954088-4. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d e Wroe, Nicholas (27 March 2004). "A radical in the House". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
- ^ "Baroness Helena Kennedy QC on why the British justice system is failing women". Yorkshire Post. 2 August 2018.
- ^ Carol Ann Lee, One of Your Own: The Life and Death of Myra Hindley (2012).
- ^ Rebel Lords — Current members The Public Whip.
- ^ Rogers, Benedict (6 June 2020). "Parliamentarians From Around the World Unite to Discuss the China Challenge". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
- ^ "Uighurs: China bans UK MPs after abuse sanctions". BBC News. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
- ^ Cheshire, Tom; Nick Lester (26 March 2021). "China sanctions: Boris Johnson praises MPs banned by Beijing for 'shining a light on gross human rights violations'". Sky News.
- ^ "'Badge of honour' - China sanctions UK politicians for Xinjiang 'lies'". Reuters. 26 March 2021.
- ^ "Baroness Helena Kennedy QC elected next Principal of Mansfield College", University of Oxford Mansfield College, 13 April 2011. Archived 29 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Principal". Mansfield College. University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
- ^ "The full list of people with ceremonial roles during King's coronation". The Independent. 28 April 2023. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ "Helena Kennedy QC made an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College". University of Cambridge. 26 April 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ "Baroness Helena Kennedy QC". Plymouth University | Honorary degrees 2012. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
- ^ "Baroness Helena Kennedy of The Shaws". The Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
- ^ "BBC 100 Women 2021: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
- ^ "Coronation order of service in full". BBC News. 5 May 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- ^ Majesty Magazine [@MajestyMagazine] (9 March 2024). "New appointments to the Order of the Thistle" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "No. 64354". The London Gazette. 26 March 2024. p. 6066.
- ^ "2016: A Vision and Strategy for the Centennial" Archived 4 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine (p. 18), School of Oriental and African Studies, April 2010
- ^ Qureshi, Huma (17 October 2012). "Helena Kennedy: 'Women's struggles are not over'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
- ^ "New Chancellor for Sheffield Hallam University". shu.ac.uk. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
- ^ "IBA - IBAHRI Secretariat to the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom". www.ibanet.org. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
- ^ "Meet The Team" Archived 11 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine, LIFT. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
- ^ [1]
- ^ "SafeHands for Mothers". SafeHands for Mothers. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ^ Chandler, Mark (20 January 2020), "Kennedy steps down as Booker Prize Foundation chair", The Bookseller.
- ^ "CHE > In the news". www.c-h-e.org.uk. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
- ^ "No. 54934". The London Gazette. 30 October 1997. p. 12205.
- ^ "Kennedy Baronessa Helena - Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana" (in Italian). Quirinale. 23 April 2004.