- Jonathan Sumption
Jonathan Philip Chadwick Sumption, OBE, QC (born
9 December 1948 ) is an eminentUK barrister andmedieval historian .He is famous for his appearance in the
Hutton Inquiry on the UK government's behalf [ [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/kelly/story/0,,1050053,00.html Ministers 'did nothing wrong' in revealing identity of Dr Kelly, The Guardian, 26 September 2003] ] , for his part in the Three Rivers case [ [http://www.hrothgar.co.uk/WebCases/hol/reports/00/49.htm House of Lords Judgments - Three Rivers District Council and Others (Original Appellants and Cross-Respondents) v. Governor and Company of The Bank of England (Original Respondents and Cross-Appellants), 18 May 2000] ] and his representation of former Cabinet ministerStephen Byers and the UK Department for Transport in theRailtrack private shareholders' action against the British Government in 2005.As an historian his works include a substantial chronological history of the
Hundred Years' War , so far in two volumes with a third volume due for publication in 2009.Education
Sumption was educated at
Eton College andMagdalen College, Oxford . He graduated from Oxford University in 1970, receiving a B.A. degree inHistory withfirst class honours . [ [http://www.brickcourt.co.uk/barristercvpdf.asp?barr_cv_id=9 Curriculum Vitae of Jonathan Sumption QC, Brick Court Chambers website] ]Early career
He worked in History as a Fellow of Magdalen College, before leaving to pursue law. He was called to the bar at
Inner Temple in 1975 and has since pursued a successful legal practice in commercial law. In the late 1970s Sumption wrote regularly for theSunday Telegraph .Later career
He became a
Queen's Counsel in 1986, and aBencher atInner Temple in 1991. He acted in the landmark Three Rivers versus Bank of England case involving the collapse of theBank of Credit and Commerce International . He is a deputy High Court judge in theChancery Division , and a judge of the Jersey and Guernsey Court of Appeal.He is a member of the
Judicial Appointments Commission , as a representative of the legal profession, and is also a Governor of theRoyal Academy of Music He is joint head of [http://www.BrickCourtChambers.co.uk Brick Court Chambers] ,the UK's largest set by revenue [http://www.thelawyer.com/uk100/2005/bar/1-brick_court_chambers.html The Lawyer.com ~UK 100 Annual Report, 24 May 2008] ] .
On 30 November 2007 he was successful, acting as a litigant in person before Mr Justice Collins, in a judicial review application in the Administrative Court concerning development near his home in Greenwich [ [http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2007/2776.html England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions, 30 November 2007] ] .
Earnings
He has been described by the "
Sydney Morning Herald " as "one of the most expensive silks in Britain".Fact|date=May 2008 "The Guardian " describes him as being a member of the million pound club, the elite group of barristers who earn over a million pounds year [ [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/kelly/story/0,13747,1043659,00.html Government calls in top QC, The Guardian 17 September 2003] ] . In a letter to the Guardian in 2001, he compared his "puny £1.6million a year" to the vastly larger amounts that comparable superstars in business, sports and entertainment are paid [ [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/kelly/story/0,13747,1043659,00.html Government calls in top QC, ibid.] ] .For a four week trial in the UK in 2005 he charged £800,000 plus VAT to represent the UK government in the largest
class action in the UK, brought by 49,500 private shareholders of the collapsed national railway infrastructure companyRailtrack [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2005/04/30/cnsilk30.xml&menuId=242&sSheet=/money/2005/04/30/ixcity.html The Telegraph, 30 April 2004] ] . This was probably the case with the highest profile of the year in the UK, and the government had a great deal, in money and reputation, at stake. The case examined some of the actions of the government, especially of former transport secretaryStephen Byers MP. Byers became the only formerCabinet Minister to be cross-examined in the High Court in relation to his actions in modern times. The UK Government won the case, even if many commentators regarded the shareholders as having won the moral argument. Fact|date=September 2007Historical works
* "Pilgr
* "The Albigensian Crusade" (1978) ISBN 0-571-11064-9
* "Equality" (1979, withKeith Joseph ) ISBN 0-7195-3651-0
* "The Hundred Years War I: Trial by Battle" (1991) ISBN 0-571-13895-0
* "The Hundred Years War II: Trial by Fire" (1999) ISBN 0-571-13896-9
* "The Age of Pilgr
* "The Hundred Years War III" (due 2009) ISBN 0-571-13897-7References
External links
* [http://www.brickcourt.co.uk/members.asp?bar_id=9 Brick Court Chambers information]
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