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Lord Chancellor

Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice David Lammy

David Lammy was appointed Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Justice and Deputy Prime Minister on the 5th September 2025.

The Lady Chief Justice, at the Royal Courts of Justice, swore in the Lord Chancellor, The Right Honourable David Lammy MP on the 1st October 2025.

He was previously Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs between 5 July 2024 and 5 September 2025. David was first elected as Labour MP for Tottenham at the age of 27 in June 2000.

David Lammy the Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, has made several critical statements about US President Donald Trump in the past, particularly when he was a backbench MP.

In 2018, Lammy wrote in a TIME magazine article that Trump was a “woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath” and a “profound threat to the international order.” He also called Trump a “tyrant in a toupee” and vowed to protest against the UK government’s “capitulation” to Trump during his visit to the UK.

In 2017, Lammy tweeted that Trump was a “racist KKK and Nazi sympathiser” and pledged to protest on the streets if Trump visited the UK.

In 2019, responding to Trump’s claim that he had been treated badly as president, Lammy tweeted, “4 US Presidents have been assassinated snowflake,” a comment criticized for its tone.

The Rt Hon David Lammy MP on US President Donald Trump

On the 5th July 2024 Attorney General Richard Hermer KC was sworn in.

As the Secretary of State for Justice, The Rt Hon David Lammy MP, heads the Ministry of Justice.

David studied law at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Law School and Harvard Law School. He was admitted to the Bar of England and Wales in 1994.

The Rt Hon David Lammy MP – Legal Experience

What is the role of the Lord Chancellor ?

The Lord Chancellor is one of the most ancient offices of state, dating back many centuries.

The Lord Chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking even the prime minister.

The Lord Chancellor is responsible for the administration of the courts, prison system, legal aid, and probation services in England and Wales

The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister and is a senior member of the Cabinet. They head the Ministry of Justice as the Secretary of State for Justice.

You should read the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 which explains the transfer of some powers from the Lord Chancellor to the Lord Chief Justice.

Oath of the Lord Chancellor

The Lord Chancellor takes a sincere and solemn Oath from Part 2 Section 17 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005

“I,     , do swear that in the office of Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain I will respect the rule of law, defend the independence of the judiciary and discharge my duty to ensure the provision of resources for the efficient and effective support of the courts for which I am responsible. So help me God.”

Oath of the Lord Chancellor Part 2 Section 17 Constitutional Reform Act 2005

Previous Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

  1. The Rt Hon Shabana Mahmood MP 2024 to 2025
  2. The Rt Hon Alex Chalk KC 2023 to 2024
  3. The Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP 2022 to 2023
  4. The Rt Hon Brandon Lewis CBE MP 2022 to 2022
  5. The Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP 2021 to 2022
  6. The Rt Hon Robert Buckland KC MP 2019 to 2021
  7. The Rt Hon David Gauke 2018 to 2019
  8. The Rt Hon David Lidington CBE 2017 to 2018
  9. The Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP 2016 to 2017
  10. The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP 2015 to 2016
  11. The Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP 2012 to 2015
  12. The Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke KC 2010 to 2012

Photo Credit : David Lammy

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