Alex Carlile, Baron Carlile of Berriew - Biography

Alexander Charles Carlile, Baron Carlile of Berriew, QC (born 12 February 1948) is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords.

Early life and career

Alex Carlile, the son of Polish Jewish immigrants, was brought up in North Wales and Lancashire. He was educated at Epsom College and at King's College London where he graduated in Law in 1969. He was called to the Bar by Gray's Inn in 1970 and became a QC at the unusually young age of 36.

Lord Carlile of Berriew is a practising barrister and former head of chambers of 9–12 Bell Yard, a leading set of barristers' chambers. He successfully defended Diana, Princess of Wales's butler, Paul Burrell, against charges that Burrell had stolen some of her estate's belongings. In 2001 he was appointed the government's independent reviewer of terrorism legislation. Lord Carlile stood down as head of chambers at 9-12 Bell Yard in March, 2008. He was succeeded by Philip Katz QC.

Political career

Carlile was created a life peer in 1999, as Baron Carlile of Berriew, of Berriew in the County of Powys, having previously been a Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for Montgomeryshire from 1983 to 1997. As the sole Welsh Liberal Democrat MP for Wales, Carlile helped steer the party through one of its low points. He was instrumental in the pre-devolution discussions with the Welsh Labour Party that led up to the 1997 devolution referendum.

According to the Register of Lords' Interests, Lord Carlile of Berriew is inter alia a director of 5 Bell Yard Ltd and the Wynnstay Group of agricultural feed manufacturers, agricultural goods merchants and fuel oil distributors; a Deputy High Court Judge; a Chairman of the Competition Appeals Tribunal; and a trustee of the White Ensign Association. He became President of the Howard League for Penal Reform in 2006.

Howard League for Penal Reform

Chair of the 2006 Inquiry into physical restraint, solitary confinement and forcible strip searching of children in prisons, secure training centres and local authority secure children's homes. Now President of the Howard League

On 11th May and 6th June 2011, Lord Carlile held a follow-on Public Inquiry in the House of Lords. He put together an expert panel to advise and to give evidence to the Inquiry. This expert panel who gave both written and oral evidence consisted of Nick Hardwick (Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons), Paul Cook (G4S children's services), Eric Baskind (British Self Defence Governing Body, Liverpool John Moores University), Malcolm Stevens (JusticeCare Solutions), Laura Janes (Howard League for Penal Reform), John Drew (Youth Justice Board for England and Wales), Sue Berelowitz (Office of the Children's Commissioner) and Carolyne Willow (CRAE).

Legislation

Carlile was the first Member of Parliament to campaign for the rights of transsexuals.

Lord Carlile has acted since 2005 as the independent reviewer of British anti-terrorist laws. The Director of Liberty, Shami Chakrabarti, called Carlile's support for control orders "disappointing" in a February 2006 press release condemning the introduction of control orders by the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005. Following the resignation of David Davis to fight a by-election on an "anti 42-day" platform, Carlile wrote an article for The Sun criticising his stance. Carlile has been effective in clarifying counter-terrorism law, and has been an effective influence in the reduction of stop and search by police in the UK.

Personal life

He lists his recreations as politics, theatre, food and football, and is a member of the Athenaeum Club. He is a lifelong supporter of English football club Burnley FC. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, President of the United Kingdom's largest professional security organisation, The Security Institute, and Chairman of the Chartered Security Professionals Registration Authority. He has three children by his first wife Frances and six grandchildren. He married his second wife Alison Levitt QC in December 2007: she is the Principal Legal Advisor to the Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales. Both are Benchers of their Inns of Court. He is currently (2011) a member of the Management Committee of Gray's Inn of which he is a Bencher together with Peter Goldsmith, Baron Goldsmith.

See also

• Timeline of children's rights in the United Kingdom
• Howard League for Penal Reform

External links

• Howard League for Penal Reform
• Lord Carlile speaking about the effectiveness of the House of Commons and about the Rule of Law at a seminar organised by The Constitution Society
• Lord Carlile of Berriew QC profile at the site of Liberal Democrats
• Biography at the House of Lords
• Announcement of his introduction at the House of Lords House of Lords minutes of proceedings, 12 October 1999
• Alexander Charles Carlile, Baron Carlile of Berriew, thepeerage.com
• British American Business Council conference, 2001 (page no longer available, cached at zoominfo.com)

Offices held