The Lord Falconer of Thoroton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Studio portrait, 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 12 June 2003 – 28 June 2007 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Tony Blair | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | The Lord Irvine of Lairg[b] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Jack Straw | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of the House of Lords | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumedlife peerage 15 May 1997 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Charles Leslie Falconer (1951-11-19)19 November 1951 (age 73) Edinburgh, Scotland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | Hamish, William "Rocco", Rosie, Johnny | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Queens' College, Cambridge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Charles Leslie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton,PC, KC (born 19 November 1951) is a BritishLabourpolitician,peer andbarrister who served asLord Chancellor andSecretary of State for Justice[a] under Prime MinisterTony Blair from 2003 to 2007.
Born inEdinburgh, Falconer read law atQueens' College, Cambridge and then worked as abarrister in London. During his time as a barrister, he was a flatmate ofTony Blair. Although Blair went into politics, Falconer focused on his legal career and became aQueen's Counsel. After Blair was elected as Prime Minister, Falconer was created alife peer and madeSolicitor General for England and Wales. He is the only known person to have served as Solicitor General as a peer. Later, he served successively asMinister of State for the Cabinet Office,Minister of State for Housing, Planning and Regeneration andMinister of State for Criminal Justice, Sentencing and Law Reform.
In 2003, Falconer became the Lord Chancellor and the firstSecretary of State for Constitutional Affairs. He went on to become the firstSecretary of State for Justice in a 2007 reorganisation and enlargement of the portfolio of the Department for Constitutional Affairs, and held this role for over a month untilGordon Brown became Prime Minister in June 2007. Falconer was named Shadow Justice Secretary under the acting leadership ofHarriet Harman in 2015, and continued in this role after the election ofJeremy Corbyn as leader of the party, until heresigned on 26 June 2016. He was appointed as Shadow Attorney General in theStarmer shadow cabinet in April 2020, and stepped down from the role in November 2021.
Charles Leslie Falconer was born inEdinburgh, Scotland, on 19 November 1951, the son of John Leslie Falconer, a solicitor, and his wife Anne Mansel.[1] His paternal grandfather wasJohn Ireland Falconer, a formerLord Provost of Edinburgh.[2] Falconer was educated at theEdinburgh Academy andTrinity College, Glenalmond.[1] He read law atQueens' College, Cambridge.
Falconer became a flatmate ofTony Blair when they were both youngbarristers in London in the late 1970s inWandsworth, having first met as pupils at rival Scottish schools in the 1960s. While Blair went into politics, Falconer concentrated on his legal career. He practised fromFountain Court Chambers in London, and became aQueen's Counsel in 1991.[3]
Falconer applied to be the Labour candidate for thesafe seat ofDudley North ahead of the1997 general election, but he "fluffed" his interview with the Labour constituency committee by refusing to take his four children out ofpublic schools. BarristerRoss Cranston was selected instead and won the seat, holding it from 1997 to 2005. Cranston succeeded Falconer asSolicitor General for England and Wales, serving from 1998 to 2001.[4]
On 14 May 1997, just after Blair became Prime Minister, Falconer was created alife peer asBaron Falconer of Thoroton, ofThoroton in theCounty of Nottinghamshire.[5] He was the first peer created on the new Prime Minister's recommendation, and immediately joined the government asSolicitor General.
Falconer became Minister of State at theCabinet Office in 1998, taking over responsibility for theMillennium Dome following the resignation ofPeter Mandelson. He acquired the nickname of "Dome Secretary" (a play on the position of Home Secretary) over time. He was heavily criticised for the failure of the Dome to attract an audience, but resisted calls for his resignation. This was in contrast to the sacking of Dome chief executiveJennie Page just one month after the fiasco of the New Millennium eve opening night.
Following the2001 election, Falconer joined theDepartment for Transport, Local Government and the Regions asMinister for Housing, Planning and Regeneration. He moved on to theHome Office in 2002, being given responsibility for criminal justice, sentencing and law reform. He reportedly annoyed some of his fellow lawyers by suggesting that their fees were too high.
In 2003 Falconer joined theCabinet as the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, becoming also Lord Chancellor "for the interim period" before the office was planned to be abolished. The government argued that the position of a cabinet minister as a judge and head of the judiciary was no longer appropriate and would not be upheld by theEuropean Convention on Human Rights.
The announcement was generally seen as a rushed "back-of-an-envelope" plan. There had been noGreen paper discussions norWhite paper proposals; and it became something of a shock to realise that the proposed abolition of the office of Lord Chancellor would require primary legislation. The policy of removing the Lord Chancellor's judicial role was said to be disliked byLord Irvine of Lairg, the previous Lord Chancellor.
The post of Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs took over the remaining responsibilities of the Lord Chancellor, and also became the sponsoring department for theSecretary of State for Wales and theSecretary of State for Scotland. Falconer announced his intention not to use the Lord Chancellor's power to sit as a judge and stopped wearing the traditional robe and wig of office. Falconer hoped to be the last to hold the title, ending 1,400 years of tradition.
However, in 2006 Falconer told theHouse of Lords Constitution Committee that he regretted campaigning for the abolition of the role of Lord Chancellor and was glad the title had been reserved. In his opinion, the office "still had a role to play in defending the independence of the courts."[6]
In his role asSecretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, Falconer sought to make it easier for government bodies to refuse to release documents under theFreedom of Information Act (2000), on the grounds that they are too expensive and too time-consuming for civil servants to find. The legislation allowed requests for information to be refused if the cost they would incur exceeded £600 forWhitehall and £450 for other public bodies. Falconer proposed changes that would make no difference to this level, but would expand the number of activities whose cost would be included in the totals, thus making it easier for government parties to refuse requests for information. At the end of March 2007, Falconer's department announced that it would not introduce the proposals to parliament, but would instead have a second three-month consultation with the public (the previous consultation, also of three months, ended three weeks previous to this). Media elements reported this change as a 'backtracking', andMaurice Frankel, director of theCampaign for Freedom of Information, was quoted as saying "This raises the strong possibility that the government will decide to leave the current arrangements untouched".[7]
Falconer was replaced in his ministerial posts byJack Straw in Gordon Brown's inaugural cabinet reshuffle, with Straw becoming the first non-Member of the House of Lords to take up the office of Lord Chancellor.
In February 2008, Falconer told a BBC radio programme that the government should require certain news articles to be removed from online archives during sensitive trials.[8] This move was questioned as the articles were readily available in printed newspapers and other physical media, presenting a possible misunderstanding of the internet as a medium.[8]
On 7 June 2009, while being interviewed by the BBCPolitics Show, Falconer called for an urgent debate on Gordon Brown's leadership, as Labour braced itself for "terrible" election results at the2009 European Parliament Elections, following being "humiliated" at the2009 County Council elections. He said he was "not sure" Labour could unite while Brown remained leader, arguing "can we get unity under the current leadership? I am not sure that we can and we need to debate it urgently and I think probably it will need a change in leader." He said he admired Gordon Brown "greatly" but said he had an "inability to hold the party together".[9]
In 2014, Falconer proposed theAssisted Dying Bill to the House of Lords, which seeks to legalise euthanasia in the UK for those who have less than six months to live, building on the experience of theOregon Death with Dignity Act.[10]
Falconer was namedShadow Secretary of State for Justice under the acting leadership ofHarriet Harman in 2015, and continued in this role following the election ofJeremy Corbyn as leader of the party, until—along with dozens of his colleagues—he resigned on 26 June 2016.[11][12] He was appointedShadow Attorney General in theStarmer shadow cabinet on 6 April 2020, but stepped down following ashadow cabinet reshuffle in November 2021.[13]
In 2018, he apologised for his role as Lord Chancellor in thewar on drugs, and now thought drug prohibition had been a "tragic disaster" for the poor worldwide. He thoughtgovernments should take control of drug supply, thus reducing the involvement of violent gangs, and proposed that the legal regulation of drug production and supply should be in the next Labour manifesto.[14]
Since leaving office, Falconer has gone on to hold various positions outside Parliament. On 22 May 2008, it was announced that he had been appointed as Chairman of the AmicusHorizon Group Limited, aRegistered Social Landlord.[15]
On 8 July 2008, Falconer joined US law firmGibson, Dunn & Crutcher as a senior counsel,[16] where he remained as late as April 2021.[17] At this time, theGreensill scandal caused controversy over his advice to extramural firms in relation to theCOVID-19 pandemic in the UK, which he once called "the gift that keeps on giving" for lawyers; however, he regretted saying this.[17]
From 2022 to 2025, Falconer served as Chair of theLondon Drugs Commission, set up by Mayor of LondonSadiq Khan to consider possible reforms tothe UK's cannabis policy.[18]
He married Marianna Catherine Thoroton Hildyard,[19] a barrister, in 1985. She became aQC in 2002.[20] Hildyard is aCircuit Judge, known as Her Honour Judge HildyardKC, and the Designated Family Judge for Luton.[21] Her father, Sir David Henry Thoroton Hildyard (grandson ofGen. Sir Henry John Thoroton Hildyard), was theBritish Ambassador to Chile and her brother,Sir Robert Henry Thoroton Hildyard, is aHigh Court Judge. They have four children:Hamish, William "Rocco", Rosie and Johnny. Falconer placed his three sons at independentWestminster School andSt Paul's School, and his daughter atSouth Hampstead High School.[22] In the lead-up to the 1997 election, as he attempted to be selected for the seat ofDudley East, it proved to be an electoral problem for Falconer. He intended to keep his children at Westminster if selected, which caused the local selection panel to drop him from the selection procedure.[23]
He and his family own a house and a basement flat inIslington. They also own a country retreat inThoroton,Nottinghamshire. Falconer's father used to live in the village, and they rent out his old home.
Falconer was chairman of Cambridge University Amnesty International between 2006 and 2007, and is the director of Sudan Divestment.[24] He is chairman of the board for asocial enterprise set up atPentonville Prison,Liberty Kitchen.[25]
Falconer lost over fivestone between 2012 and 2014, consuming onlyDiet Coke and apples apart from dinner, eschewing tea, coffee and alcohol, and jogging for 45 minutes a day.[26]
In thegeneral election in July 2024, his son Hamish was elected as MP forLincoln.[27]
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| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Solicitor General for England and Wales 1997–1998 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister of State for Housing and Planning 2001–2002 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs 2003–2007 | BecameSecretary of State for Justice |
| Preceded by | Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain 2003–2007 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Secretary of State for Justice 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Justice 2015–2016 | Succeeded by |
| Shadow Lord Chancellor 2015–2016 | ||
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Presiding Officer of theHouse of Lords as Lord Chancellor 2003–2006 | Succeeded byas Lord Speaker |
| Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by | Gentlemen Baron Falconer of Thoroton | Followed by |
| Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain andSecretary of State for Constitutional Affairs 2003–2007 | .svg) | |
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| Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain andSecretary of State for Justice 2007–present | ||
| Ministries | _(St_Edwards_Crown).svg) | |
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| Cabinet members |
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| Also attended meetings | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
