Sir Norman John Skelhorn, KBE, QC (10 September 1909 – 28 May 1988) was an English barrister who was Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales from 1964 to 1977.

Early life and education

Skelhorn was born in

Glossop Glossop is a market town in the Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, England. It is located east of Manchester, north-west of Sheffield and north of the county town, Matlock. Glossop lies near Derbyshire's borders with Cheshire, Greater Manches ...

, Derbyshire, the son of a clergyman. He was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into the ...

. He was called to the Bar in 1931.

Career

Appointed DPP in 1964, in 1965, Sir Norman presented a paper to the Commonwealth and Empire Law Conference in Sydney, titled "Crime and Punishment of Crime: Investigation of Offences and Trial of Accused Persons." In this paper, he set out his agenda. These words came back negatively when, in ''Rupasinghe v. Attorney General'' the defence counsel in this case about violation of the

right to silence The right to silence is a legal principle which guarantees any individual the right to refuse to answer questions from law enforcement officers or court officials. It is a legal right recognized, explicitly or by convention, in many of the worl ...

, used the report in contrast to Sir Norman's 1972 role as a member of the eleventh Criminal Law Revision Committee. One of the first cases Skelhorn dealt with was the August 1966 seizure by

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

's obscene publications squad of all copies of

Aubrey Beardsley Aubrey Vincent Beardsley (21 August 187216 March 1898) was an English illustrator and author. His black ink drawings were influenced by Woodblock printing in Japan, Japanese woodcuts, and depicted the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He ...

's erotic cards and posters they could find in a card shop on

Regent Street Regent Street is a major shopping street in the West End of London. It is named after George, the Prince Regent (later George IV) and was laid out under the direction of the architect John Nash and James Burton. It runs from Waterloo Place ...

. After Commissioner Sir Joseph Simpson went to the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

to inspect the originals with

pubic hair Pubic hair is terminal body hair that is found in the genital area of adolescent and adult humans. The hair is located on and around the sex organs and sometimes at the top of the inside of the thighs. In the pubic region around the pubis bon ...

on display there, the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

Roy Jenkins Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead, (11 November 1920 – 5 January 2003) was a British politician who served as President of the European Commission from 1977 to 1981. At various times a Member of Parliament (MP) for the Lab ...

had to spend time dealing with the media, while Sir Norman was so deeply unimpressed by the seized drawings that he promptly ordered the police to take them back to the shop. In 1972, Skelhorn gave

bank robber Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank Branch (banking), branch or Bank teller, tell ...

Bertie Smalls Derek Creighton "Bertie" Smalls (12 June 1935 – 31 January 2008) was considered by many as Britain's first supergrass. Although there have been informers throughout history – the Kray twins were partly convicted two years before Smalls on ...

, Britain's first true

supergrass Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993 in Oxford. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey ( ...

, immunity from prosecution in light of the amounts and detail of his Queen's evidence. Although Smalls evidence and confession consequently convicted 21 associates for a total of 302 years, the

Law Lords Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, commonly known as Law Lords, were judges appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to the British House of Lords, as a committee of the House, effectively to exercise the judicial functions of the House of ...

told Skelhorn that they found the arrangement with Smalls an "unholy deal." Skelhorn became entangled in the row that erupted around the use of

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts c ...

in Northern Ireland.

Edward Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

since 1970, had banned

sensory deprivation Sensory deprivation or perceptual isolation is the deliberate reduction or removal of stimuli from one or more of the senses. Simple devices such as blindfolds or hoods and earmuffs can cut off sight and hearing, while more complex devices can al ...

in light of the report by Sir Edmund Compton into internment and interrogation techniques used by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...

. In October 1973, being questioned at a meeting of the

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

Forum, Sir Norman did not deny that torture had taken place. On the contrary, he stated that "when dealing with "Irish terrorists" any methods were justified." On 9 April 1976, the leader of the Young Liberals

Peter Hain Peter Gerald Hain, Baron Hain (born 16 February 1950), is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2005 to 2007, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2007 to 2008 and twice as Secretary of State ...

was cleared of robbery at a branch of

Barclays Bank Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

. In the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

that afternoon, six MPs led by Liberal

David Steel David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, (born 31 March 1938) is a British politician. Elected as Member of Parliament for Roxburgh, Selkirk, and Peebles, followed by Tweeddale, Ettrick, and Lauderdale, he served as the final leade ...

, called for the resignation of Sir Norman Skelhorn, over the Hain case.

Retirement

Skelhorn retired from the post before the publication of the critical report by

Lord Devlin Patrick Arthur Devlin, Baron Devlin, PC, FBA (25 November 1905 – 9 August 1992) was a British judge and legal philosopher. The second-youngest English High Court judge in the 20th century, he served as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary fro ...

published in 1977 recommended statutory prosecution safeguards, on which the Government took no action.

Merlyn Rees Merlyn Merlyn-Rees, Baron Merlyn-Rees, (né Merlyn Rees; 18 December 1920 – 5 January 2006) was a British Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament from 1963 until 1992. He served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1974–197 ...

appointed Sir Thomas Hetherington Director of Public Prosecutions on the retirement of Sir Norman, with a brief to reduce delays in the criminal legal system. Skelhorn was an active

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

References

*Skelhorn, Norman – ''Public prosecutor: The memoirs of Sir Norman Skelhorn, director of public prosecutions, 1964–1977'' Harrap (1981). {{DEFAULTSORT:Skelhorn, Norman 1909 births 1988 deaths People educated at Shrewsbury School British barristers Directors of Public Prosecutions (England and Wales) British King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Lawyers awarded knighthoods Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England 20th-century English lawyers