Helena Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws

Helena Ann Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, QC, FRSA, HonFRSE (born 12 May 1950), is a Scottish barrister, broadcaster, and Labour member of the House of Lords. She served as Principal of Mansfield College, Oxford from 2011 to 2018.


The Baroness Kennedy
of The Shaws

Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws' official parliamentary photo, 2019
Principal of Mansfield College, Oxford
In office
September 2011  2018
Preceded byDiana Walford
Succeeded byHelen Mountfield
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office
27 October 1997
Life Peerage
Personal details
Born
Helena Ann Kennedy

(1950-05-12) 12 May 1950
Glasgow, Scotland
NationalityBritish (Scottish)
Political partyLabour
Spouse(s)Iain Louis Hutchison
(1986 to date);
2 children
Domestic partnerIain Mitchell (1978–1984);
1 child
ChildrenKeir Kennedy Mitchell
Clio Kennedy Hutchison
Roland Kennedy Hutchison
OccupationBarrister, television presenter
Websitewww.helenakennedy.co.uk

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.[1] Her parents were committed Labour activists and devoutly Roman Catholic.[2] Her father, a printer with the Daily Record, was a trade union official.[2]

She attended Holyrood Secondary School in Glasgow, where she was appointed Head Girl. She studied law at the Council of Legal Education in London[2]

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.[3]

Politics

Kennedy rebels against her party whip in the House of Lords more frequently than any other Labour Peer, having a dissent rate of 33.3%.[4] She was Chair of Charter 88 (1992–1997) and is closely affiliated to the educational charity Common Purpose. 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.[5]

Academia

Kennedy became the first Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, serving from 1994-2001. Kennedy was elected principal of Mansfield College, Oxford in July 2010 and served from September 2011.[6] She retired in 2018 and became Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University on 26 July 2018.[7]

Personal life

From 1978 to 1984 she lived with the actor Iain Mitchell, and together they had a son. In 1986, Kennedy married Dr Iain Louis Hutchison, a surgeon, with whom she has a daughter and a son.[2]

Kennedy regularly attends mass and professes that her Roman Catholicism "remains very much part of who I am", even though she eschews its more traditional values.[2]

Honours

She has received numerous academic awards, including:

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
  • 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)
  • Commissioner, BAFTA Inquiry into the future of the BBC, 1990

Appointments

Kennedy signing The Convention on Modern Liberty in January 2009

Honours

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

References

  1. 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. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  2. Wroe, Nicholas (27 March 2004). "A radical in the House". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  3. "One of Your Own: The Life and Death of Myra Hindley", by Carol Ann Lee (2012).
  4. Rebel Lords — Current members The Public Whip
  5. "Parliamentarians From Around the World Unite to Discuss the China Challenge". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  6. "Baroness Helena Kennedy QC elected next Principal of Mansfield College" Archived 29 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine, University of Oxford Mansfield College, 13 April 2011.
  7. "Principal". Mansfield College. University of Oxford. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Baroness Helena Ann Kennedy of The Shaws QC, HonFBA, HonFRSE – The Royal Society of Edinburgh". The Royal Society of Edinburgh. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  10. "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
  11. Qureshi, Huma (17 October 2012). "Helena Kennedy: 'Women's struggles are not over'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  12. "New Chancellor for Sheffield Hallam University". shu.ac.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  13. "IBA - IBAHRI Secretariat to the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom". www.ibanet.org. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  14. "Meet The Team", LIFT. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
  15. "SafeHands for Mothers". SafeHands for Mothers. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  16. Chandler, Mark (20 January 2020), "Kennedy steps down as Booker Prize Foundation chair", The Bookseller.
  17. "CHE > In the news". www.c-h-e.org.uk.
  18. "No. 54934". The London Gazette. 30 October 1997. p. 12205.
  19. Sitio web del Quirinal
Academic offices
Preceded by
New Institution
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
Succeeded by
incumbent
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