UCL Laws alumnus Stephen Parkinson appointed as Director of Public Prosecutions

The appointment is expected to commence on 1 November for an initial term of five years. 

Mr Parkinson is one of the City of London’s best known criminal defence lawyers with a long and distinguished career which began in CPS as a junior Prosecutor. Most recently, he was Senior Partner at law firm Kingsley Napley LLP, where he represented a number of high-profile cases.

Over the last 20 years Mr Parkinson has accumulated a wealth of experience in high-profile roles in Government, notably in the Treasury Solicitor’s Department, where he was responsible for most of the Government’s regulatory litigation, and also the Department of Trade and Industry, where he headed a team providing legal advice in live company investigations.

In the CPS, he progressed from junior Prosecutor to the head of the International Co-Operation Unit and also spent two periods in the Attorney General’s Office, with his last post being as deputy head of the department.

Mr Parkinson advised former prime minister Sir Tony Blair and his cabinet on the Hutton inquiry, which investigated the 2003 death of David Kelly, a biological weapons expert. He represented Lord Ian Blair, former Metropolitan Police commissioner, and other officers in the Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation following the 2005 London shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes; and was hired by Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of media group News UK, during the investigation phase of the phone hacking scandal at the former News of the World newspaper.

Mr Parkinson studied the LLB at UCL Laws between 1976–1979, before training as a Barrister and qualifying as a Solicitor in 2005. His long-standing commitment to public service and social justice, as well as increasing the diversity of lawyers, are consistent with the Faculty’s commitment to driving inclusivity and social impact. 

Speaking of his appointment, Mr Parkinson said:

“I am delighted and honoured to be appointed as the next Director of Public Prosecutions. Both as a prosecutor and defender I have always strongly believed in the importance of the CPS in bringing to justice and prosecuting fairly those accused of crime."

Dean of UCL Laws, Professor Eloise Scotford said:

"Stephen Parkinson represents the best and the essence of a UCL Laws education – an enduring commitment to excellence, to the rule of law and to social justice. We are enormously proud and wish Stephen the very best as he takes up his new office."