Heather Hallett, Baroness Hallett

The Baroness Hallett
Official portrait, 2021
Vice-President of the Criminal Division of the Court of Appeal
In office
8 November 2013 – 21 October 2019
Preceded bySir Anthony Hughes
Succeeded bySir Adrian Fulford
Vice-President of the Queen's Bench Division
In office
3 October 2011 – 3 March 2014
Preceded bySir John Thomas
Succeeded bySir Nigel Davis
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
Assumed office
11 October 2019
Life peerage
Personal details
Born
Heather Carol Hallett

(1949-12-16) 16 December 1949 (age 74)
Eastleigh, England
Political partyCrossbench (since 2019)
Spouse
Nigel Wilkinson
(m. 1974)
Children2
Alma materSt Hugh's College, Oxford
OccupationJudge

Heather Carol Hallett, Baroness Hallett, DBE, PC, KC (born 16 December 1949), is a retired British judge of the Court of Appeal and a crossbench life peer. The first woman to chair the Bar Council and the fifth woman to sit in the Court of Appeal, Hallett led the independent inquest into the 7/7 bombings. In April 2019, she was appointed Chair of the Security Vettings Appeal Panel. In December 2021, she was announced as the chair of the public inquiry into the UK Government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] On 29 June 2022, the Government accepted Baroness Hallett's proposed terms of reference for the inquiry, with minor changes suggested by the devolved administrations.[2]

  1. ^ "Ex-High Court judge Baroness Hallett to chair Covid inquiry". BBC News. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  2. ^ HM Government. "Acceptance of COVID-19 Inquiry Terms of Reference". Gov.UK. HM Government.