United Kingdom
Secretary of State for Justice
Royal Arms of His Majesty's Government
Incumbent
Alex Chalk
since 21 April 2023
Ministry of Justice
StyleJustice Secretary
(informal)
The Right Honourable
(within the UK and Commonwealth)
TypeMinister of the Crown
StatusSecretary of State
Member of
Reports toThe Prime Minister
SeatWestminster
NominatorThe Prime Minister
AppointerThe Monarch
(on the advice of the Prime Minister)
Term lengthAt His Majesty's Pleasure
PrecursorSecretary of State for Constitutional Affairs
Formation9 May 2007
First holderThe Lord Falconer
Salary£159,038 per annum (2022)[1]
(including £86,584 MP salary)[2]
WebsiteOfficial Website
This article is part of the series: Courts of England and Wales
Law of England and Wales
Administration
Civil and family courts
Criminal courts
Criminal prosecution
Legal profession

The Secretary of State for Justice is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Justice. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. Since the office's inception, the incumbent has concurrently been appointed Lord Chancellor.

The officeholder works alongside the other justice ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow secretary of state for justice, and the performance of the secretary of state is also scrutinised by the Justice Select Committee.[3]

Responsibilities

According to what is generally known as a justice minister in many other countries, the justice secretary's remit includes:

Creation

The then Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, was appointed to the post of Secretary of State for Justice when it was created in 2007. The office of the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs was abolished, along with the Department for Constitutional Affairs. The home secretary, John Reid, told Parliament that future secretaries of state for justice would be MPs rather than peers.

List of secretaries of state

For Lord Chancellors before 2003, see List of Lord Chancellors and Lord Keepers. For Secretaries of State between 2003 and 2007, see Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs.
Secretary of State Term of office Political party Government
Charles Falconer, Baron Falconer of Thoroton[4] 9 May 2007 28 June 2007 Labour Blair
(III)
Jack Straw[n 1][5]
MP for Blackburn 		28 June 2007 6 May 2010 Brown
Kenneth Clarke[6]
MP for Rushcliffe 		12 May 2010 6 September 2012 Conservative Cameron-Clegg
(Coalition)
Chris Grayling[7]
MP for Epsom and Ewell 		6 September 2012 8 May 2015
Michael Gove[8]
MP for Surrey Heath 		8 May 2015 14 July 2016 Cameron
(II)
Liz Truss[9]
MP for South West Norfolk 		14 July 2016 11 June 2017 May
(I)
David Lidington[10][11]
MP for Aylesbury 		11 June 2017 8 January 2018 May
(II)
David Gauke[12]
MP for South West Hertfordshire 		8 January 2018 24 July 2019
Robert Buckland[13]
MP for South Swindon 		24 July 2019 15 September 2021 Johnson
(I)
Johnson
(II)
Dominic Raab[14]
MP for Esher and Walton 		15 September 2021 6 September 2022
Brandon Lewis
MP for Great Yarmouth 		6 September 2022 25 October 2022 Truss
Dominic Raab
MP for Esher and Walton 		25 October 2022 21 April 2023 Sunak
Alex Chalk
MP for Cheltenham 		21 April 2023 Incumbent

See also

Notes

  1. ^ First non-peer to serve as Lord Chancellor since Sir Robert Henley as Lord Keeper of the Seal in 1760.

References

  1. ^ "Salaries of Members of His Majesty's Government – Financial Year 2022–23" (PDF). 15 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Pay and expenses for MPs". parliament.uk. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Michael Gove questioned on work of Secretary of State". parliament.uk. 9 July 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2021. The Justice Committee holds a one-off session with Michael Gove MP, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, on the work of the Secretary of State for Justice.
  4. ^ "Lord Falconer of Thoroton". UK Parliament. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  5. ^ "Rt Hon Jack Straw". UK Parliament. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Lord Clarke of Nottingham". UK Parliament. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  7. ^ "Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  8. ^ "Rt Hon Michael Gove MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Rt Hon Sir David Lidington". UK Parliament. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  11. ^ "The Rt Hon David Lidington CBE". GOV.UK.
  12. ^ "Rt Hon David Gauke". UK Parliament. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Rt Hon Robert Buckland MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  14. ^ "Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP". UK Parliament. Retrieved 25 September 2021.

External links

Secretaries of State for Justice of the United Kingdom
Ministry of Justice
UK cabinet portfolios
Categories