The Lord Murray of Blidworth | |
|---|---|
 Lord Murray of Blidworth, 2022 | |
| Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Migration and Borders [a] | |
| In office 7 October 2022 – 14 November 2023 | |
| Prime Minister | Liz Truss Rishi Sunak |
| Preceded by | The Baroness Williams of Trafford |
| Succeeded by | The Lord Sharpe of Epsom |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |
| Assumed office 24 October 2022 Life Peerage | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Simon Peregrine Gauvain Murray 2 August 1974 London, England |
| Nationality | British and Irish |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Alma mater | University of St Andrews |
Simon Peregrine Gauvain Murray, Baron Murray of Blidworth (born 2 August 1974), is a British lawyer and former government minister, who since 2022 sits on the Conservative benches in the House of Lords.[1]
The only son of Nigel Ormiston Gauvain Murray (1944–2002) and his wife Shirley née Arbuthnot (born 1949), a descendant of the Arbuthnot baronets, his matrilineal great-great-grandfather, Sir Henry Blake GCMG,[2] was a British colonial administrator and Governor of Hong Kong who hailed from the Anglo-Irish gentry being seated at Myrtle Grove, County Cork.[3] Of Scots patrilineal descent, his grandfather was Dr Ronald Murray MBE FRCPE,[4] a kinsman of the Duke of Atholl.
After graduating from the University of St Andrews (MA), Murray was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple in 2000.[5] He practises public law at 39 Essex Chambers.[6]
In 2011 he appeared on the BBC show, Fake or Fortune? for his family who claim ownership of the painting; even though the family did not remember owning the painting and presumably because they had realised its worth, Children Under a Palm by Winslow Homer, which had been found by a skip over 23 years earlier;[7] although determined to be genuine, who owns this work of art is still a matter of dispute.
Murray served as a Conservative Councillor on Gedling Borough Council, representing Newstead Abbey Ward from the 2019 election until he stood down in November 2022.[8]
Under the premiership of Liz Truss, his appointment as a Minister of State for the Home Office was announced on 9 October 2022.[9][10] Created a Life Peer on 21 October 2022, taking the title of Baron Murray of Blidworth, of Blidworth in the County of Nottinghamshire, he became a member of the House of Lords[10] thereby being answerable to parliament.[11]
Lord Murray made his maiden speech in the Upper House on 26 October 2022 during a debate on British Passports for those born the Republic of Ireland but living in Northern Ireland.[12] He served as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Home Office from 30 October 2022 until 14 November 2023.[11]
Murray married Amelia May Beaumont (born 1983), a granddaughter of the Baron Beaumont of Whitley and a great-granddaughter of Lady May Abel Smith,[13] at Temple Church London, on 4 October 2007. Lord and Lady Murray have two children.
A member of MCC, Lord Murray has also served as a ceremonial officer of the Order of St John.[14] Admitted to the freedom of the City of London, he is a liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Scriveners.[15]
