Helena Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws

Iain Louis Hutchison

​

​

(m. 1986)​

The Right Honourable The Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws LT KC FRSA HonFRSE
Official portrait, 2025
Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University
In office 26 July 2018 –8 May 2025
Domestic partner	Iain Mitchell (1978–1984)
Children	3
Occupation	Barrister television presenter
Website	helenakennedy.co.uk

Helena Ann Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws (born 12 May 1950), is a Scottish barrister, broadcaster, and Labour member of the House of Lords. She was Principal of Mansfield College, Oxford, from 2011 to 2018. A bencher of Gray's Inn, an Honorary Writer to the Signet and the recipient of 42 honorary degrees from many universities including those of Glasgow and Edinburgh in recognition of work on women and the law and on widening participation in higher education. She is president of Justice, the law reform think tank, and director of the International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI). In 2024, Kennedy succeeded Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury as chair of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom. ^{[1] [2]}

Early life and education

Kennedy was born on 12 May 1950 in Glasgow, Scotland, one of the four daughters of Mary Veronica (née Jones) and Joshua Patrick Kennedy, nicknamed "Mae" and "Joss", respectively. ^[3] Her parents were committed Labour activists and devoutly Catholic. ^[4] Her father, a printer with the Daily Record , was a trade union official. ^[4]

She attended Holyrood Secondary School in Glasgow, where she was appointed Head Girl. She studied law at the Council of Legal Education in London. ^[4]

Legal career

In 1972, Kennedy was called to the bar at Gray's Inn. Among her many cases, Kennedy acted as junior counsel for child murderer Myra Hindley during her 1974 trial for plotting to escape from Holloway Prison. ^{[5] [6]} She was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1991. ^[7]

Politics

Kennedy was a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain during the early 1970s, which she later regretted. ^[4]

She served as the chair of Charter 88 from 1992 to 1997, ^[4] and became closely affiliated to the educational charity Common Purpose.

She was a high-profile supporter of Tony Blair's New Labour during the 1990s. ^{[4] [8]} She was made a life peer in October 1997 on account of her role as chair of Charter 88, whose constitutional reform policies had been adopted by the Labour Party, ^[4] and joined the party on the same day. ^[9] Following her appointment, she became a prominent critic of the party's direction, ^{[4] [8]} although she wrote in 2008 that the first Blair ministry "produced more far-reaching reforms than anything seen since the Great Reform Act" of 1832. ^[10] She has rebelled against her party whip in the House of Lords more frequently than any other Labour peer, with a dissent rate of 11.5% as of 2025. ^[11]

In May 2009, in reaction to the United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal, she launched the campaign for a referendum on a "more proportional electoral system" at the following election with an open letter in The Guardian , ^{[12] [13]} which eventually led to the 2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum. She was subsequently reported to be organising a coalition of independent candidates to run in the election against the MPs involved in the expenses scandal, who included members of her own party, but denied the allegation. ^[13]

In April 2017, she led the open letter call for Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party to stand down its candidates in the seats of Brighton Pavillion and the Isle of Wight in favour of the Green Party at the 2017 general election, following two similar concessions by the Green Party. ^[14]

In 2020, she worked with the Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith and democracy activist Luke de Pulford to create the global pressure group Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China. ^[15] In March 2021, China placed sanctions on her. ^[16] The sanctions were condemned by the Prime Minister and led the Foreign Secretary to summon the Chinese ambassador. ^{[17] [18]}

Academia

Kennedy became the first chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, serving from 1994 until 2001. She was elected principal of Mansfield College, Oxford, in July 2010 and served in the role from September 2011. ^[19] She retired in 2018 and became chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University on 26 July 2018. ^[20]

Personal life

From 1978 to 1984 she lived with the actor Iain Mitchell, and together they had a son. In 1986, Kennedy married Iain Louis Hutchison, a surgeon, with whom she has a daughter and a son. ^[4]

Kennedy regularly attends Mass and professes that her Catholicism "remains very much part of who I am", even though she eschews its more traditional values. ^[4]

In 2023, Kennedy took part in King Charles and Queen Camilla's coronation at Westminster Abbey, carrying the Queen Consort's Rod with Dove. ^[21]

Honours

She has received numerous awards, including:

• Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA)
• Fellow of the City and Guilds of London Institute (FCGI)
• Member of the Académie Universelle des Cultures (Paris)
• Honorary Fellow, Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2005
• Honorary Fellow, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, 2005
• Honorary Fellow, Institute of Advanced Legal Studies
• Honorary Fellow, Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge, 2010 ^[22]
• Honorary Fellow, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), 2011
• Honorary Doctorate of Law, Plymouth University, 2012 ^[23]
• Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (HonFRSE), 2014 ^[24]
• She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 Women of 2021. ^[25]
• She was chosen to carry the Queen's Rod in the Royal Procession at the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla. ^[26]
• She was appointed as a Lady of the Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle (LT) by King Charles III in 2024. ^{[27] [28]}

Broadcasting

Hosting After Dark in 1997

• Creator: Blind Justice, BBC TV, 1987
• Presenter: Heart of the Matter, BBC TV, 1987
• After Dark , Channel 4 and BBC4, 1987–2003
  • Kennedy presented many editions of this series, including the 1991 "Do Men Have To Be Violent" featuring an inebriated Oliver Reed who verbally insulted and attempted to kiss feminist Kate Millett, as well as the 1995 special "Ireland: Sex & Celibacy, Church & State" which included an unscheduled last-minute appearance from singer Sinéad O'Connor.
• Presenter: Raw Deal on Medical Negligence, BBC TV, 1989
• Presenter: The Trial of Lady Chatterley's Lover, BBC Radio 4, 1990
• Presenter: Time Gentlemen, Please, BBC Scotland, 1994 (Winner, Television Programme Award category, 1994 Industrial Journalism Awards)

Appointments

Kennedy signing The Convention on Modern Liberty in January 2009

Legal, political and governmental

• President of Council (formerly Chair ^[29] ), JUSTICE ^[30]
• Director, International Bar Association's Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) ^[31]
• Chair, High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom (2024–) ^[32]
• Member of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom ^[33]
• Member of the World Bank Institute's External Advisory Council (1998–2005) ^[34]
• Member of the International Bar Association's Task Force on Terrorism (2001–2003) ^[35]
• Former member of the Foreign Policy Centre's Advisory Council
• Former board member of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (2010) ^{[36] [37]}
• Co-director (with Kate Mallinson), Future of Russia Foundation (2016–2019) ^{[a] [38]}
• Commissioner, CIBA Commission on Child Sexual Abuse within the Family (sponsored by the CIBA Foundation, 1981–1983) ^[35]
• Commissioner, BAFTA Inquiry into the future of the BBC, 1990–1993 ^[39]
• Commissioner, National Commission on Education (NCE, sponsored by Paul Hamlyn Foundation, 1991–1994) ^{[40] [31] [35]}
• Chair, Widening Participation Committee, Further Education Funding Council (1994–1997) ^{[41] [40]}
• Chair, Reading Borough Council's Commission of Inquiry into the health, environmental and safety aspects of the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston (final report Secrecy versus Safety, published in 1994)
• Chair, Howard League's Commission of Inquiry into Violence in Penal Institutions for Young People (the final report, Banged Up, Beaten Up, Cutting Up, published in 1995)
• Chair, Royal Colleges of Pathologists' and of Paediatrics' Inquiry into Sudden Infant Death (producing a protocol for the investigation of such deaths in 2004)
• Commission Chair of the Power Inquiry (November 2005 – March 2006) ^{[b] [42]}
• Chair of Power 2010 (extending the Power Inquiry to the 2010 general election)
• Commissioner, Government Commission on a British Bill of Rights (2010) ^[31]

Academic and professional

• Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University (1993–2001) ^[4]
• Chair, British Council (1998–2004)
• Chair, Human Genetics Commission (1998–2007)
• President of the Board the Governors of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS, 2002–2012) ^{[43] [4]}
• Chair of the Board of Governors for the United World College of the Atlantic (2005–2009) ^{[44] [37]}
• Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University (2018–2025) ^[45]
• Vice-president of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers (since at least 2011 ^[46] ) ^[47]
• Vice-president of the Association of Women Barristers

Economic and cultural

• Chair of the board of the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority (CIISA, established by Heather Rabbatts, 2024–) ^{[31] [48]}
• Trustee, The Tablet Trust ^{[36] [49]}
• Trustee, KPMG Foundation
• Trustee, Media Standards Trust (2006–2015) ^{[36] [37]}
• Member of the board of Hampstead Theatre (1986–1991) ^[31]
• Member of the board of New Statesman and Society (1990s) ^[35]
• Member of the board of Independent News and Media (1998–2010) ^{[37] [36]}
• Member of the board of the British Museum (2004–2012) ^{[31] [34]}

Charitable

• President, Helena Kennedy Foundation (1998–) ^[31]
• Co-director (with David Sagal), Clooney Foundation for Justice (2025–) ^[37]
• President of the National Children's Bureau (1998–2005)
• President, Women of the Year Lunch (2010–2015) ^[50]
• Honorary Patron and former President, Medical Aid for Palestinians ^{[51] [39]}
• Patron (formerly Chair, 1991–1998 ^[31] or 1994–2002 ^[35] ), London International Festival of Theatre ^[52]
• Council member, Howard League for Penal Reform (1992—2002) ^[35]
• Member of the advisory board, International Centre for Prison Studies ^[36]
• Patron, Burma Campaign UK, the London-based group campaigning for human rights and democracy in Burma
• Patron, upReach, a UK social mobility charity that supports undergraduates from low income backgrounds pursuing competitive graduate careers. ^[53]
• Patron, Public Law Project ^[54]
• Patron, Institute for Learning (IfL)
• Patron, Liberty
• Patron, UNLOCK, The National Association of Ex-Offenders
• Patron, Debt Doctors Foundation UK (DD-UK)
• Patron, Tower Hamlets Summer University
• Patron, Rights Watch (UK) ^{[ usurped ]}
• Patron of SafeHands for Mothers, a UK-based charity whose mission is to improve maternal and newborn health by harnessing the power of the visual, through the production of films. ^[55]
• Chair, Booker Prize Foundation (2015–2020) ^[56]
• Vice President of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality (from 2017) ^[57]

Civic honours

• Created a life peer as Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, of Cathcart in the City of Glasgow on 27 October 1997. ^[58]
• Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic on 23 March 2004. ^[59]
• Commander of the Order of Academic Palms (2006).

Bibliography

• Eve was Framed: Women and British Justice, 1993; ISBN   0-09-922441-0
• Just Law: The changing face of justice and why it matters to us, 2004; ISBN   0-09-945833-0
• Eve Was Shamed: How British Justice Is Failing Women, 2018; ISBN   9781784742225
• Misjustice: How British Law is Failing Women, 2019; ISBN   9781784707682

Notes

1. Established by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Henry Kissinger, Mikhail Piotrovsky and Jacob Rothschild in 2002.
2. Examined the problem of democratic disengagement in the United Kingdom. A report was produced which highlighted the "Myth of Apathy" and the lack of political engagement.

References

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2. "Kennedy succeeds Neuberger as chair of international media freedom panel". www.globallegalpost.com. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
3. "Kennedy of the Shaws, Baroness, (Helena Ann Kennedy) (Born 12 May 1950)". Who's Who. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u22850. ISBN   978-0-19-954088-4 . Retrieved 22 April 2019.
4. Wroe, Nicholas (27 March 2004). "A radical in the House". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
5. "Baroness Helena Kennedy QC on why the British justice system is failing women". Yorkshire Post . 2 August 2018.
6. Carol Ann Lee, One of Your Own: The Life and Death of Myra Hindley (2012).
7. "Helena Kennedy". 3 April 2013.
8. Kennedy, Helena (15 March 2022). "A Woman's Way: Interview with Helena Kennedy QC". Holyrood (Interview). Interviewed by Rhodes, Mandy. Archived from the original on 15 March 2022.
9. "Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws: Parliamentary career". Parliament of the United Kingdom . Retrieved 19 September 2025.
10. Diamond, Patrick (2021), The British Labour Party in Opposition and Power 1979–2019: Forward March Halted?, London: Routledge, pp. 290–291, ISBN   9781138817876
11. "Rebel Lords — Current members". Public Whip . Retrieved 19 September 2025.
12. "Parliament in crisis: When will MPs start to listen to the people?". The Guardian . 24 May 2009. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
13. Stratton, Allegra (25 May 2009). "Labour peer Helena Kennedy denies organising against party". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 September 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
14. "Labour should step down for the Greens in some key seats". The Guardian. 30 April 2017. Archived from the original on 30 April 2017. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
15. Rogers, Benedict (6 June 2020). "Parliamentarians From Around the World Unite to Discuss the China Challenge". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
16. "Uighurs: China bans UK MPs after abuse sanctions". BBC News. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
17. Cheshire, Tom; Nick Lester (26 March 2021). "China sanctions: Boris Johnson praises MPs banned by Beijing for 'shining a light on gross human rights violations'". Sky News.
18. "'Badge of honour' - China sanctions UK politicians for Xinjiang 'lies'". Reuters. 26 March 2021.
19. "Baroness Helena Kennedy QC elected next Principal of Mansfield College", University of Oxford Mansfield College, 13 April 2011. Archived 29 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine .
20. "Principal". Mansfield College. University of Oxford. Archived from the original on 6 April 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
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27. Majesty Magazine [@MajestyMagazine] (9 March 2024). "New appointments to the Order of the Thistle" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
28. "No. 64354". The London Gazette . 26 March 2024. p. 6066.
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33. "IBA – IBAHRI Secretariat to the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom". www.ibanet.org. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
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38. "New Generation Europe Foundation (Company number 04529663)". Companies House . Retrieved 19 September 2025.
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40. "Baroness Helena Kennedy KC". Helena Kennedy Foundation. Archived from the original on 8 April 2025.
41. Kennedy, Helena (1997), Learning Works: Widening Participation in Further Education, Coventry: Further Education Funding Council, p. iii
42. White, Isobel (14 March 2006), Power to the People: the report of Power, an Independent Inquiry into Britain's Democracy (Standard Note SN/PC/3948) (PDF), House of Commons Library, p. 3
43. "2016: A Vision and Strategy for the Centennial" Archived 4 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine (p. 18), School of Oriental and African Studies, April 2010
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45. "New Chancellor for Sheffield Hallam University". shu.ac.uk. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
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48. "The CIISA Board". CIISA. Archived from the original on 10 November 2024. Retrieved 19 September 2025.
49. "The Tablet". National Council of Priests of Australia. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018.
50. Qureshi, Huma (17 October 2012). "Helena Kennedy: 'Women's struggles are not over'". The Guardian . London. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
51. "Who We Are". Medical Aid for Palestinians . Retrieved 19 September 2025.
52. "Meet The Team" Archived 11 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine , LIFT. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
53. "Our Story and Vision for a Fairer Society". upreach.org.uk. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
54. "Patrons".
55. "SafeHands for Mothers". SafeHands for Mothers. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
56. Chandler, Mark (20 January 2020), "Kennedy steps down as Booker Prize Foundation chair", The Bookseller.
57. "CHE > In the news". www.c-h-e.org.uk. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
58. "No. 54934". The London Gazette . 30 October 1997. p. 12205.
59. "Kennedy Baronessa Helena - Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana" (in Italian). Quirinale. 23 April 2004.

External links

• Debrett's People of Today ^{[ usurped ]}
• Helena Kennedy's home page
• Power Commission
• Helena Kennedy Foundation
• "Helena Kennedy Foundation, registered charity no. 1074025". Charity Commission for England and Wales.

Academic offices
New university	Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University 1994–2001	Succeeded by Jon Snow
Preceded by Diana Walford	Principal of Mansfield College, Oxford 2011–2018	Succeeded by Helen Mountfield
Preceded by Robert Winston	Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University 2018–present	Incumbent