Sir Jeremy Paul Wright , MP (born 24 October 1972) is a British lawyer and politician who served as

Attorney General for England and Wales His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is one of the law officers of the Crown and the principal legal adviser to sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales. The attorney general maintains the Attorney G ...

from 2014 to 2018 and as Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from 2018 to 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he has been the

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for Kenilworth and Southam, previously Rugby and Kenilworth, since the 2005 general election. He served as

Lord Commissioner of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...

from 12 May 2010 until his appointment as

Minister of State for Prisons The Minister of State for Prisons, Parole and Probation is a mid-level ministerial office in the Ministry of Justice. It has, at times, been seen as the deputy to the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor. Responsibilities The mi ...

at the

Ministry of Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

on 6 September 2012. He became

and

Advocate General for Northern Ireland The advocate general for Northern Ireland is the chief legal adviser to the Government of the United Kingdom on Northern Ireland law and the post is held by the attorney general for England and Wales by virtue of that office. The advocate general ...

on 15 July 2014. Wright replaced

Matt Hancock Matthew John David Hancock (born 2 October 1978) is a British politician who served as Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General from 2015 to 2016, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport from January to July 201 ...

as Culture Secretary on 9 July 2018, serving in the post for a year until being sacked by incoming Prime Minister

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

in July 2019 and returning to the backbenches.
Sky Sports report, 25 July 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2020.

Early life

Wright was born in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

. His parents were both teachers and he has one brother who served as a Commander in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

. Wright was educated at two independent schools: Taunton School and Trinity School, New York City, before going to the

University of Exeter , mottoeng = "We Follow the Light" , established = 1838 - St Luke's College1855 - Exeter School of Art1863 - Exeter School of Science 1955 - University of Exeter (received royal charter) , type = Public , ...

, where he graduated as a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

. He was called to the Bar at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1996 and specialised in criminal law in the Midlands until his election to Parliament in 2005.'WRIGHT, Jeremy Paul'
''Who's Who'' 2013, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, December 2012; online edn, November 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2013. He remains a member of No.5 Chambers in Birmingham but is officially listed as non-practising as of May 2013.
The Register of Members' Financial Interests: Part 1. As at 7 May 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.

Parliamentary career

Wright was first elected to Parliament at the 2005 general election, when he won the seat of Rugby and Kenilworth from the sitting Labour MP Andy King who had represented the constituency since the 1997 general election. At the 2010 election he retained the newly created Kenilworth and Southam constituency, increasing his majority to 12,552.Jeremy Wright MP
Democracy Live, BBC. Retrieved 28 May 2013. In July 2007, Wright was appointed as an Opposition Whip and served as a Government Whip from 2010 until 2012, holding the office of

.Jeremy Wright
Parliament of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 28 May 2013. He served as a member of the

Constitutional Affairs Select Committee The Commons Constitutional Affairs Committee (est. January 2003) of the United Kingdom was a select committee of the House of Commons which looked into the expenditure, policy and administration of the Department for Constitutional Affairs and asso ...

between 2005 and 2007. In September 2012 Wright was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the

. His specific responsibility was as Minister for Prisons and Rehabilitation.Jeremy Paul Wright
politics.co.uk. Retrieved 28 May 2013. He was appointed Attorney General on 15 July 2014, replacing

Dominic Grieve Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve (born 24 May 1956) is a British barrister and former politician who served as Shadow Home Secretary from 2008 to 2009 and Attorney General for England and Wales from 2010 to 2014. He served as the Member of Parl ...

. For the purposes of this role, he was appointed a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

. Wright set up the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Dementia in 2007. Wright has generally supported the proposals for the HS2 London to Birmingham rail link which will run through his constituency.Warwickshire candidates support high-speed rail link
BBC election 2010, 14 April 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2013. He has opposed some of the detailed original plans for the route, although supporting route changes made in 2010.High-speed route in Warwickshire 'revised', says MP
''BBC News'', 8 September 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2013.Warwickshire MP joins HS2 protest group
''Coventry Telegraph'', 11 October 2011. Retrieved 28 May 2013.County divided on HS2 rail route
''BBC News'', 10 January 2012. Retrieved 28 May 2013. In 2016, Wright became the campaign manager for Stephen Crabb's leadership bid for the Conservative leadership election. Crabb withdrew from the contest after coming fourth in the first round and transferred his support to

Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cabi ...

. Wright campaigned for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union before the EU membership referendum on 23 June 2016. In November 2016, Wright was criticised by a number of other Conservative MPs for his role in the Government's loss of a High Court case which gave MPs and peers a veto over when Brexit begins. Although it was suggested that he should resign as Attorney General, Wright retained his position. In July 2018, after a series of resignations in May's cabinet after her decision of a "

Soft Brexit In the wake of the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, referendum held in the United Kingdom on 23 June 2016, many new pieces of Brexit-related jargon entered popular use.Al Jazeera. (2018)''Brexit jargon: From backstop to ...

" was reached at Chequers, Wright was appointed to Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, after

was moved to become

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care The secretary of state for health and social care, also referred to as the health secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department of Health and Social Care. The incumbent ...

. With

Sajid Javid Sajid Javid (; born 5 December 1969) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from June 2021 to July 2022, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2018 to 2019 and Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

in late 2018, Wright warned social media firms that "the era of self-regulation is coming to an end" with regard to extremist content and announced a forthcoming ' online harms white paper', published in April 2019, which is expected to introduce legal regulation of online publishers and social media, including new censorship rules. In late May 2022, Jeremy Wright became the 27th Conservative MP to publicly call for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign, in a 2,000 word letter on his website.

Stansted 15 Case

In 2019 - in his role at Attorney General he decided to prosecute the Stansted 15 under the Aviation and Maritime Security Act 1990 – terror legislation that was first introduced in the aftermath of the Lockerbie bombing for their role in stopping one of the UK Government's Foreign Deportation flights. In their appeal, lawyers for the defence argued the legislation used to convict the group was not only rarely used but also was not intended for the kinds of peaceful actions undertaken by their clients. They said the prosecution stretched the meaning of the law by characterising the lock-on equipment they used to blockade the runway as devices used to endanger life. In its judgment, the Court of Appeal stated that they “should not have been prosecuted for the extremely serious offence, because heirconduct did not satisfy the various elements of the offence,” adding “there was in truth, no case to answer”.

Register of Members' Interests

From 1 September 2021 to 1 September 2022, Wright has been Professor of Practice at the University of Warwick in Coventry, for which he receives £10,000 per annum, paid monthly. This is for approximately 3 hrs a week. (Registered 1 October 2021).

Expenses claims

Wright has defended his expenses claims as an MP, including claiming nearly £3,000 for the purchase of furniture for a flat in London after he became an MP in 2005.My furniture claim was not extravagant
''Coventry Telegraph'', 1 June 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2013. He repaid £46.71 over-claimed for council tax in 2007–08 after a "genuine mistake".Jeremy Wright MP made mobile phone and furniture expenses claims
''Coventry Telegraph'', 30 May 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2013. He also claimed just under £800 in mobile phone call charges which he was ordered to repay. He appealed the decision to order repayment of these expenses, claiming that he had requested permission to charge an amount for mobile phone calls as he did not have a landline installed in his London flat.Tory whip appealing against MPs' expenses payback demand
''The Guardian'', 23 December 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2013.Tory MP Jeremy Wright appeals over MPs expenses order
''Coventry Telegraph'', 23 December 2009. Retrieved 28 May 2013. Wright succeeded in his appeal and was not required to repay the amount claimed for mobile phone calls.MP Jeremy Wright won't have to repay £700 expenses
''Coventry Telegraph'', 3 February 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2013. Wright published errors on his website in 2009, placing political links on it, an activity banned if costs for the site are paid for from Parliamentary expenses, although he was not required to repay the expenses claimed in this instance.Tory candidate Jeremy Wright under pressure to repay expenses after breaking rules
''Birmingham Post'', 29 April 2010. Retrieved 28 May 2013.

Personal life

He married Yvonne Salter in 1998, with whom he has a son and a daughter. He and his wife live in the village of Shrewley in

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...

. In November 2018, Wright said that he likes to unwind by spending time with his "very large" Lego collection. Wright described assembling lego bricks as "therapeutic". He was knighted in the 2022 Birthday Honours for political and public service.

References

External links

www.jeremywright.org.uk
Jeremy Wright's website
Profile
at the Conservative Party *
His profile at his chambers

Debrett's People of Today
, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wright, Jeremy (Politician) 1972 births Living people People educated at Taunton School Trinity School (New York City) alumni Alumni of the University of Exeter Attorneys General for England and Wales British barristers Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English Anglicans English King's Counsel Members of the Inner Temple Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People from Taunton People from Warwickshire Rugby, Warwickshire UK MPs 2005–2010 UK MPs 2010–2015 UK MPs 2015–2017 UK MPs 2017–2019 UK MPs 2019–present Advocates General for Northern Ireland British Secretaries of State Member of the Committee on Standards in Public Life Knights Bachelor Politicians awarded knighthoods