Heather Carol Hallett, Baroness Hallett, (born 16 December 1949) is a retired English judge of the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

and a crossbench life peer. She was the fifth woman to sit in the Court of Appeal, and led the independent inquest into the 7/7 bombings. In December 2021, she was announced as the chair of the

public inquiry A tribunal of inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body. In many common law countries, such as the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, Australia and Canada, such a public inquiry differs from a royal ...

into the UK Government's handling of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On 29 June 2022, the Government accepted Baroness Hallett's "terms of reference"

Early life and education

Hallett was born in

Eastleigh Eastleigh is a town in Hampshire, England, between Southampton and Winchester. It is the largest town and the administrative seat of the Borough of Eastleigh, with a population of 24,011 at the 2011 census. The town lies on the River Itchen, o ...

in 1949 and was the daughter of Hugh Victor Dudley Hallett (1919-1991), a beat policeman who worked his way up to the rank of assistant chief constable and secretary general of the

International Police Association The International Police Association (IPA) is a Non-Governmental Organization for members of the police force, whether in employment or retired. By 2021, there were more than 360,000 members in nearly 100 countries, of which 65 are affiliated ...

. Hallett recalled during BBC Radio 4, Desert Island Discs that one of her early childhood homes was their local police station, which doubled as a

custody suite {{Unreferenced, date=June 2011 A custody suite is an area within a police station in the United Kingdom designed and adapted to process and detain those who have been arrested, or who are there for purposes such as answering bail. Historically, all ...

. She was educated at Brockenhurst Grammar School , in the

New Forest The New Forest is one of the largest remaining tracts of unenclosed pasture land, heathland and forest in Southern England, covering southwest Hampshire and southeast Wiltshire. It was proclaimed a royal forest by William the Conqueror, featu ...

, and at

St Hugh's College, Oxford St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a site on St Margaret's Road, to the north of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 by Elizabeth Wordsworth as a women's college, and accepte ...

Legal career

Hallett was called to the Bar by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1972, specialising in criminal law. She successfully defended a stepfather wrongly accused of murder in an early "cot death" related trial. She became a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1989 and a

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can ...

of Inner Temple in 1993. She was the first woman to chair the

Bar Council {{see also, Bar association A bar council ( ga, Comhairle an Bharra) or bar association, in a common law jurisdiction with a legal profession split between solicitors and barristers or advocates, is a professional body that regulates the profess ...

, in 1998, having been vice-chair in 1997, and became Treasurer of the

in 2011. Hallett was appointed a Recorder of the

Crown Court The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all Indictable offence, indictable offences, some Hybrid offence, either way offences and appeals lied to it by the Magistrates' court, magistrates' court ...

in 1989, then a deputy High Court judge in 1995, before becoming a full-time judge of the High Court in 1999 in the

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

. As a High Court judge, she received the customary appointment as a

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(DBE) on 21 July 1999. She was promoted to the Court of Appeal in 2005. She was appointed a member of the

Judicial Appointments Commission The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is an independent commission that selects candidates for judicial office in courts and tribunals in England and Wales and for some tribunals whose jurisdiction extends to Scotland or Northern Ireland. Sy ...

in January 2006, as a representative of the judiciary. Hallett was chosen in 2009 to act as coroner in the inquest of the 52 fatal victims of the 7/7 bombings. She was widely praised for her empathy towards the inquest witnesses. She began a four-year term as

Vice-President of the Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

on 3 October 2011, succeeding Lord Justice Thomas. In May 2012 in an appeal hearing she quashed the murder conviction of 24-year-old Sam Hallam as unsafe after he had spent seven years in prison, which made him one of the youngest victims of a UK miscarriage of justice. In February 2013, she was assessed as the 8th most powerful woman in Britain by

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

. In November 2013, she was appointed

Vice-President of the Criminal Division The Vice-President of the Criminal Division is a Lord Justice of Appeal who assists the Lord Chief Justice, the President of the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The post was created by Lord Bingham of Cornhill during ...

of the

, succeeding Lord Hughes. In March 2014, she was appointed by the

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

to carry out an independent review of the administrative scheme by which 'letters of assurance' were sent to those known as the 'on the runs' (OTRs). In December 2021, she was announced as the chair of the

into the UK government's handling of the

. In July 2022, the Terms of Reference for the

into the UK government's handling of the

were agreed by

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

, and he launched the Public Inquiry.

Honours/Affiliations

On 14 June 2017 she was made an Honorary Fellow of

The Academy of Experts The Academy of Experts (TAE; formerly the British Academy of Experts) is a UK legal institute for expert witnesses. It was founded in 1987 with the objective of providing a professional body for experts to establish and promote high objective standa ...

in recognition of her contribution to The Academy's Judicial Committee and work for Expert Witnesses. She is the patron of Women in Criminal Law.

House of Lords

Hallett was nominated for a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

age in the

2019 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours The 2019 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours are honours awarded following the July 2019 resignation of the Prime Minister, Theresa May. The life peerages and other honours were issued as two separate lists by the Cabinet Office on 10 September ...

. She was created Baroness Hallett, of

Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe (Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is u ...

in the County of

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

, on 11 October 2019. She sits as a

Crossbencher A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

in the House of Lords.

Personal life

Hallett is married to Nigel Vivian Marshall Wilkinson, KC, a

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

and deputy high court judge; they have two sons.

References

External links

The Hallett Review
into the administrative scheme for the 'On the Runs'

from the

Brief biography
from Financial Regulatory Briefing, November 1997 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hallett, Heather 1949 births Alumni of St Hugh's College, Oxford Crossbench life peers English women judges Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of St Hugh's College, Oxford Living people Lady Justices of Appeal Members of the Inner Temple Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Queen's Bench Division judges 20th-century King's Counsel 20th-century English women 20th-century English people People from Eastleigh Life peers created by Elizabeth II