Edward Peter Lawless Faulks, Baron Faulks, KC (born 19 August 1950), is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

barrister and unaffiliated peer who is the current Chairman of the

Independent Press Standards Organisation The Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) is the regulator of the newspaper and magazine industry in the UK. It was established on 8 September 2014 after the windup of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC), which had been the main ind ...

(IPSO). Formerly a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

peer, he was Minister of State for Justice between December 2013 and July 2016.

Background and education

Faulks is the son of Peter Ronald Faulks MC, a circuit judge, and Pamela Faulks (''née'' Lawless). The novelist

Sebastian Faulks Sebastian Charles Faulks (born 20 April 1953) is a British novelist, journalist and broadcaster. He is best known for his historical novels set in France – ''The Girl at the Lion d'Or'', '' Birdsong'' and '' Charlotte Gray''. He has also pub ...

is his younger brother. His uncle was Sir Neville Faulks, a High Court judge. He was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: *Wellington College, Berkshire, an independent school in Crowthorne, Berkshire, England ** Wellington College International Shanghai ** Wellington College International Tianjin * Wellington College, Wellington, Ne ...

and

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship S ...

, 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 The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

in 1973. He became a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

in 1996, an Assistant

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in 1996, and a

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 The Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) was a United Kingdom government department. Its creation was announced on 12 June 2003; it took over the functions of the Lord Chancellor's Department. On 28 March 2007 it was announced that the Dep ...

on compensation culture from 2005 to 2006, and head of research for the

Society of Conservative Lawyers The Society of Conservative Lawyers was founded in 1947 and is an affiliate of the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom. A leading Conservative think tank, the society also provides expert legal advice to the Conservative Front Bench and hosts ...

from 2010 to 2012. He is a member of the

Chartered Institute of Arbitrators The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (abbreviated as CIArb) is a professional organisation representing the interests of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) practitioners. Founded on 1 March 1915, it was granted a royal charter by Queen Eliza ...

. 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 Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Ber ...

. In December 2013 it was announced that with effect from 20 January 2014 Faulks would become a

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

at the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

. He served in this role until July 2016, when he resigned from the government in protest against the appointment of

Liz Truss Mary Elizabeth Truss (born 26 July 1975) is a British politician who briefly served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from September to October 2022. On her fiftieth day in office, she stepped down ...

Secretary of State for Justice The secretary of state for justice, also referred to as the justice secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Justice. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the Un ...

by new prime minister

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cabi ...

. Lord Faulks was appointed a Justice at the

Astana International Financial Centre The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is a financial hub in Astana, Kazakhstan that officially launched on July 5, 2018. On 20 May 2015, the President of Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev announced the “100 Concrete Steps ...

Court in Astana, Kazakhstan, in 2018. Since January 2020, he has been Chairman of the

, 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 A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners. Social enterprises ca ...

Liberty Kitchen Liberty Kitchen is a social enterprise based at HM Prison Pentonville, London. It exists to train prisoners in high-quality food preparation, and to employ ex-prisoners to sell this food at street markets. Its intention is to open up opportuniti ...

, set up to reduce recidivism at

Pentonville Prison HM Prison Pentonville (informally "The Ville") is an English Category B men's prison, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. Pentonville Prison is not in Pentonville, but is located further north, on the Caledonian Road in the Barnsbury ar ...

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 Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council is the local authority for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Kensington and Ch ...

References

External links

Lord Faulks – UK Parliament

Lord Faulks – TheyWorkForYou

Lord Edward Faulks QC – GOV.UK
{{DEFAULTSORT:Faulks, Edward 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 20th-century King's Counsel 21st-century King's Counsel Government ministers of the United Kingdom Life peers Fellows of Jesus College, Oxford