Alison Levitt, Baroness Levitt
The Baroness Levitt | |
|---|---|
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 22 January 2025 Life peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alison Frances Josephine Levitt 27 May 1963 London, England |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of St Andrews (MA) |
Alison Frances Josephine Levitt, Baroness Levitt, KC (born 27 May 1963), is a British barrister. She was the principal legal advisor to the director of public prosecutions from 2009 to 2014, working under Keir Starmer, and served as a circuit judge from 2021 to 2024. She was appointed to the House of Lords as a life peer in 2025.
Early life and education
[edit]Alison Levitt was born on 27 May 1963 in London.[1] Her father, David Levitt, was an architect and co-founder of the architectural practice Levitt Bernstein,[2][3] and her mother, Christian Bevington, was a circuit judge.[4] Levitt attended the City of London School for Girls and studied at the University of St Andrews, where she gained a Scottish Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1986.[1]
Legal career
[edit]Levitt was called to the bar in 1988 at the Inner Temple. Her private practice as a barrister in London focused on murder, rape, fraud, and other areas of serious crime.[5] She chaired the Bar Council's Young Barristers' Committee in 1995 and was the secretary of the Criminal Bar Association in 2006 and 2007.[1] Levitt was appointed a recorder in 2006[6] and Queen's Counsel (QC) in 2008,[7] and became a bencher of the Inner Temple in 2010.[5]
In 2009, Levitt was appointed as the principal legal advisor to the director of public prosecutions, then Keir Starmer. She conducted the Crown Prosecution Service's review of its handling of allegations made in the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal.[5] After leaving the post in 2014, Levitt became a partner at the law firm Mishcon de Reya, establishing and heading its group on white-collar crime. She returned to the bar in 2018 and was appointed as a circuit judge in 2021,[8] resigning upon her appointment as a life peer in 2024.[5][9]
House of Lords
[edit]In late 2024, Levitt was nominated for a life peerage by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.[10][11] She was created Baroness Levitt, of Beachamwell Warren in the County of Norfolk, on 22 January 2025,[12] and was introduced to the House of Lords on 30 January.[13]
Personal life
[edit]In 1993, Levitt married Matthew Miller, with whom she has two daughters. After their divorce, Levitt married Alex Carlile in 2007.[1] Carlile, a barrister and former judge, was a Liberal Party and Liberal Democrat member of Parliament from 1983 to 1997, and was himself appointed to the House of Lords as Lord Carlile of Berriew in 1999.[14]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Levitt, Alison Frances Josephine, (Lady Carlile of Berriew)". Who's Who. A & C Black. 2024. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U247091. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ "No. 50948". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 June 1987. p. 10.
- ^ "David Levitt". Routledge. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
- ^ Fennell, Edward (27 August 2015). "Born again lawyers find a new path". The Times. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Political Peerages December 2024" (PDF). GOV.UK. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
- ^ "No. 58173". The London Gazette. 6 December 2006. p. 16849.
- ^ "No. 58657". The London Gazette. 3 April 2008. p. 5084.
- ^ "No. 63597". The London Gazette. 24 January 2022. p. 1170.
- ^ "Circuit Judge Resignation: Levitt KC". Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. 17 January 2025. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
- ^ "Political Peerages December 2024". GOV.UK (Press release). Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 20 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ Pollock, Laura (20 December 2024). "See the 38 new lifetime peers announced by the UK Government". The National. Archived from the original on 20 December 2024. Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- ^ "No. 64642". The London Gazette. 28 January 2025. p. 1422.
- ^ "Introduction: Baroness Levitt". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Vol. 843. Parliament of the United Kingdom: House of Lords. 30 January 2025. col. 363.
- ^ "Carlile of Berriew". Who's Who. A & C Black. 2024. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U10171. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
External links
[edit]- Profile at Parliament of the United Kingdom
- Contributions in Parliament at Hansard
- Voting record at PublicWhip.org
- Record in Parliament at TheyWorkForYou.com
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