Daniel Brennan, Baron Brennan

Last updated

The Lord Brennan
Daniel Brennan, Baron Brennan, World Economic Forum on Latin America 2009 cropped.jpg
Brennan speaking at the World Economic Forum on Latin America 2009
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office
2 May 2000
Life peerage
Personal details
Born (1942-03-19) 19 March 1942 (age 82)
Political party Labour
Spouse
Pilar Sánchez Moya
(m. 1968)
Alma mater Victoria University of Manchester (LLB)

Daniel Joseph Brennan, Baron Brennan, KCSG, KC (born 19 March 1942) is a British life peer and barrister.

Contents

Early life and background

Brennan was educated at St. Bede's Grammar School, Bradford, and graduated with a Bachelor of Law degree from Manchester University, where subsequently he was awarded an honorary Doctorate in 2000.

Career

He was called to the bar at Gray's Inn in 1967. A member of Matrix Chambers, he specialises in personal injury and medical work, commercial law, international business issues, public and private international law, and international arbitration. He became a Queen's Counsel in 1985, and he is a Deputy High Court Judge and a Recorder in the Crown Court, a former member of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board and ex-Chairman of the Personal Injuries Bar Association.

Lord Brennan is the Bar representative on the Council of the International Bar Association. He is also a member of the bars of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. In 2000, The Lawyer Magazine described him as Barrister of the Year.

Lord Brennan is Chair of the APPG on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, which is a cross-party grouping of MPs and Peers with Parliament focussed on discussing issues relating to the legal profession and the reform of the law and constitution.

He has an environmental, product liability and medical negligence practice involving multi-party actions such as the insurance claims from the Paddington rail crash, the combined oral contraceptive pill litigation and, in the past, the local residents' claims arising from the Canary Wharf development scheme, the HIV/haemophiliac claims against the UK government and the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster. Most recently he has appeared in the 'designer baby' appeal in the House of Lords.

He was created Baron Brennan, of Bibury in the County of Gloucestershire on 2 May 2000 [1] and is former President of the Catholic Union of Great Britain. In 2006 Lord Brennan was appointed Delegate for Great Britain and Ireland of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George in succession to Anthony Bailey.

On 19 November 2007 Brennan collapsed in the House of Lords shortly after concluding a speech on the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. He was given a heart massage in the House of Lords by, among others, Ara Darzi, Baron Darzi of Denham, the health minister. He had urged the creation of a National Bioethics Commission. Lord Brennan spent time recovering at St Thomas' Hospital, London. [2] [3]

On 3 December 2007, Lord Brennan again became unwell in the Chamber of the House of Lords. Having been fitted with a pacemaker at St Thomas' Hospital, he was thanking peers and staff who had been involved in the occasion when he was last taken ill when he fell back in his seat. [4]

Personal life

In 1968 he married a Spanish national, Pilar Sánchez Moya, with whom he has four sons.

Affiliations

Lord Brennan is the chairman of the board of directors of the Washington-based think-tank Global Financial Integrity. [5]

Arms

Coat of arms of Daniel Brennan, Baron Brennan
Coronet of a British Baron.svg
Brennan Escutcheon.png
Adopted
2007
Coronet
Coronet of a Baron
Crest
A male griffin sejant Sable beaked rayed and forelegged Or holding in the beak a rose Gules seeded slipped and leaved Or.
Escutcheon
Or two pallets Gules over all a cross moline Sable between four harps sound boxes inwards those in base reversed Or.
Supporters
On either side a male griffin segreant Sable beaked rayed and forelegged Or and holding in the beak a rose Gules seeded slipped and leaved Or.
Motto
Si Deus Nobiscum Quis Contra Nos
Badge
Four pairs of harps Or the soundbox and pedal box of each conjoined Sable the whole in cross and conjoined in the centre point
Symbolism
Geographical emblems are found with the Irish harp, the red and gold pallets for Aragon and the red roses for Lancashire. The cross is used as a Christian emblem and the griffins relate to the name of the building in which the grantee has his chambers. The Badge combines both the Irish harp and a cross formation.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gareth Williams, Baron Williams of Mostyn</span> British Labour Party politician (1941–2003)

Gareth Wyn Williams, Baron Williams of Mostyn,, was a Welsh barrister and Labour politician who was Leader of the House of Lords, Lord President of the Council and a member of the Cabinet from 2001 until his sudden death in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton</span> British politician, peer and barrister (born 1951)

Charles Leslie Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton, is a British Labour politician, peer and barrister who served as Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice under Prime Minister Tony Blair from 2003 to 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hartley Shawcross</span> English barrister and politician

Hartley William Shawcross, Baron Shawcross,, known from 1945 to 1959 as Sir Hartley Shawcross, was an English barrister and Labour politician who served as the lead British prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Crimes tribunal. He also served as Britain's principal delegate to the United Nations immediately after the Second World War and as Attorney General for England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicholas Lyell</span> English politician (1938–2010)

Nicholas Walter Lyell, Baron Lyell of Markyate, PC, QC was an English Conservative politician, known for much of his active political career as Sir Nicholas Lyell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Carlile, Baron Carlile of Berriew</span> British barrister and politician (born 1948)

Alexander Charles Carlile, Baron Carlile of Berriew, is a British barrister and crossbench member of the House of Lords. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Montgomeryshire from 1983 to 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Taylor, Baron Taylor of Warwick</span>

John David Beckett Taylor, Baron Taylor of Warwick is a member of the House of Lords in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In 1996, at the age of 44, he became one of the youngest people in the upper house.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivor Richard</span> British politician (1932–2018)

Ivor Seward Richard, Baron Richard, was a British Labour politician who served as a member of Parliament (MP) from 1964 until 1974. He was also a member of the European Commission and latterly sat as a life peer in the House of Lords.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Ganzoni, 2nd Baron Belstead</span> British politician

John Julian Ganzoni, 2nd Baron Belstead, Baron Ganzoni, was a British Conservative politician and peer who served as Leader of the House of Lords under Margaret Thatcher from 1988 to 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Lester, Baron Lester of Herne Hill</span> British politician and barrister (1936–2020)

Anthony Paul Lester, Baron Lester of Herne Hill, QC was a British barrister and member of the House of Lords. He was at different times a member of the Labour Party, Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Democrats. Lester was best known for his influence on race relations legislation in the United Kingdom and as a founder-member of groups such as the Institute of Race Relations, the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination and the Runnymede Trust. Lester was also a prominent figure in promoting birth control and abortion through the Family Planning Association, particularly in Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Hendy, Baron Hendy</span> British lawyer (born 1948)

John Giles Hendy, Baron Hendy, is an English barrister practising in employment and Trade Union law and member of the House of Lords.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cyril Asquith, Baron Asquith of Bishopstone</span> English barrister, judge (1890–1954)

Cyril Asquith, Baron Asquith of Bishopstone, PC was an English barrister and judge who served as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary from 1951 until his death three years later.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Goff, Baron Goff of Chieveley</span> English barrister and judge (1926–2016)

Robert Lionel Archibald Goff, Baron Goff of Chieveley, was an English barrister and judge who was Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, the equivalent of today's President of the Supreme Court. Best known for establishing unjust enrichment as a branch of English law, he has been described by Andrew Burrows as "the greatest judge of modern times". Goff was the original co-author of Goff & Jones, the leading English law textbook on restitution and unjust enrichment, first published in 1966. He practised as a commercial barrister from 1951 to 1975, following which he began his career as a judge. He was appointed to the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ara Darzi, Baron Darzi of Denham</span> Armenian-British surgeon (born 1960)

Ara Warkes Darzi, Baron Darzi of Denham is an Armenian-British surgeon, academic, and politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Oliver, Baron Oliver of Aylmerton</span> British judge (1921–2007)

Peter Raymond Oliver, Baron Oliver of Aylmerton, PC was a British barrister and judge who served as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary between 1986 and 1991. The son of an academic lawyer, he served with distinction during the Second World War, before joining the Chancery bar. He was appointed to the High Court in 1974, to the Court of Appeal in 1980, and to the House of Lords in 1986, having earlier been tipped to succeed Lord Denning as Master of the Rolls in 1982. He retired in 1992, and in later life suffered from loss of sight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Grabiner, Baron Grabiner</span> British lawyer (born 1945)

Anthony Stephen Grabiner, Baron Grabiner, KC is a British barrister, academic administrator, and life peer. He is head of chambers at One Essex Court, a leading set of commercial barristers in the Temple, and was the Treasurer of Lincoln's Inn for 2013. From 2014 to 2021 he served as the Master of Clare College, Cambridge and, since 2015, he has served as the President of the University of Law. Grabiner was non-executive chairman of Taveta Investments Ltd, the holding company of Sir Philip Green behind Arcadia Group from 2002 to December 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colin Pearson, Baron Pearson</span> Canadian-born English barrister and judge

Colin Hargreaves Pearson, Baron Pearson, was a Canadian-born English barrister and judge. Rising to sit as a judge in the House of Lords, he is best remembered for his unspectacular but efficient and courteous chairmanship of industrial inquiries and royal commissions. His 1978 report into civil liability and compensation for personal injury made proposals for state pensions for accident victims that were largely rejected by government at the time.

Jeremy Nicolas Hutchinson, Baron Hutchinson of Lullington, was a British barrister. He was the son of St John Hutchinson, KC, and his wife, Mary Barnes, and was descended from a regicide of Charles I, Colonel John Hutchinson of Owthorpe. Standing as a Labour candidate in the 1945 general election, he finally entered Parliament as a life peer in 1978, eventually voting with the Liberal Democrats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Taylor, Baron Taylor of Blackburn</span> Businessman and politician

Thomas Taylor, Baron Taylor of Blackburn, was a businessman and Labour politician. He was a member of Blackburn Council for 22 years, serving as its leader from 1972 to 1976. In 1978, he became a member of the House of Lords. In 2009, he was suspended from the House, along with Baron Truscott, as a result of the cash for influence scandal, the first peers to be suspended since the 17th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basil Wigoder</span> British politician and barrister

Basil Thomas Wigoder, Baron Wigoder QC was a politician and barrister in the United Kingdom.

Andrew Simon Feldman, Baron Feldman of Elstree, is a British barrister, businessman and Conservative fundraiser and politician.

References

  1. "No. 55839". The London Gazette . 5 May 2000. p. 4980.
  2. Hansard extract
  3. "Peer collapses during IVF debate". BBC News. 19 November 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
  4. "News in Brief". The Times . London. 4 December 2007. Retrieved 19 April 2009.[ dead link ]
  5. "Board of Directors – Global Financial Integrity". Archived from the original on 29 November 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2013.
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by Gentlemen
Baron Brennan
Followed by