John Hendy, Baron Hendy

John Hendy, Baron Hendy, QC (born 11 April 1948) is an English barrister and politician acknowledged as one of the country's leading experts in UK labour law.[1]

The Right Honourable

The Lord Hendy

QC
Born (1948-04-11) 11 April 1948
NationalityEnglish
OccupationBarrister

Career

Once qualified as a lawyer, Hendy established a law centre, the Newham Rights Centre in East London, and worked there full-time for three years. He then lectured for a year at Middlesex Polytechnic, before returning to the Bar in 1977 and focusing on personal injury and industrial relations cases.[2]

In the mid 1980s he successfully represented Wendy Savage, a consultant obstetrician and gynecologist who was suspended from practice for alleged incompetence. The case led to him working on others in the area of medical negligence.[3]

In 1984-5 he represented the National Union of Mineworkers in the civil litigation arising out of the Miners' Strike. He took silk in 1987. In 1991, he was one of four QCs, along with Michael Mansfield, Geoffrey Robertson and Kevin Garnett, acting for the National Union of Mineworkers against claims that they had handled funds inappropriately during the miner's strike of 1984–85.[4] In 1992 he represented mining unions at the High Court against attempts to close 31 coal mines.[5]

In 1995, he acted for National Union of Journalists (NUJ) member Dave Wilson in the Wilson and Palmer v United Kingdom case that ended discrimination against trade unionists.[6]

In April 1999, he took over as head of Old Square Chambers, replacing John Melville Williams.[7] By that year, seventy-six of his cases had made it into law reports.[2]

He is well known for representing the relatives of the victims of the Ladbroke Grove and Southall rail accidents.[8]

He retired from head of Old Square Chambers in 2009.[8]

In 2011, The Lawyer labeled him the "barrister champion of the trade union movement", noting that he often assists Unite, ASLEF and the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers[9]

He represented the NUJ at the Leveson Inquiry and questioned Rupert Murdoch directly on 27 March 2012.[10]

Hendy was nominated for a life peerage in the 2019 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours.[11] He was created Baron Hendy, of Hayes and Harlington in the London Borough of Hillingdon, on 15 October 2019.[12] He sits as a Labour peer in the House of Lords.[13]

Personal

His mother was the youngest daughter of the 6th Baron Wynford and his father was "a communist electrician and trade unionist".[14] He describes his father as "a great fighter for human dignity as a trade unionist" and as being the greatest influence on his life.[2] His brother is Sir Peter Hendy CBE, commissioner of Transport for London from 2001 until 2016 and now Chair of Network Rail.[9]

See also

Notes
  1. "Inquiry: John Hendy QC". The Lawyer. 1997-04-02. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  2. Linda Tsang (1999-10-05). "'Seventy-six of my cases have made it into law reports' - Lawyer of the week - Interview - John Hendy QC". The Times.
  3. Dowell, Katy (2009-11-11). "The Hendy-man can". The Lawyer. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  4. Seumas Milne (17 September 2004). The enemy within: the secret war against the miners. Verso. p. 116. ISBN 978-1-84467-508-1. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  5. Mary Fagan, Barrie Clement And Martin Whitfield (1992-10-16). "Judge to rule over mine shutdowns". The Independent. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  6. "[1995] 2 AC 454 (HL) - Associated Newspapers Ltd v. Wilson; Associated British Ports v. Palmer". Old Square Chambers. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
  7. "In brief: Old Square Chambers". The Lawyer. 1999-04-10. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  8. Chellel, Kit (2009-04-27). "Old Square Chambers head steps down". The Lawyer. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  9. "Brothers at arms Features". The Lawyer. 2011-10-10. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  10. Peck, Natalie (2012-04-26). "Murdoch endorses 'conscience clause' for journalists proposed by the NUJ". Hacked Off. Retrieved 2012-04-27.
  11. "Resignation Peerages 2019" (PDF). Cabinet Office. 10 September 2019.
  12. "No. 62801". The London Gazette. 21 October 2019. p. 18812.
  13. "Lord Hendy". UK Parliament. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  14. John and Peter Hendy (2007-05-14). "Obituary: Mary Hendy". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
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