Dame Justine Thornton (born 16 September 1970), styled The Hon Mrs Justice Thornton, is a British barrister and judge of the High Court of England and Wales. Thornton was appointed to the

High Court of England and Wales The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (England ...

in February 2019, assigned to the Queen's Bench Division. As a lawyer, she specialised in

environmental law Environmental laws are laws that protect the environment. The term "environmental law" encompasses treaties, statutes, regulations, conventions, and policies designed to protect the natural environment and manage the impact of human activitie ...

Early life and education

Thornton was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

to Labour-voting professionals, Margaret and Stewart Thornton. Her mother was born in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, and her orthopaedic surgeon grandfather, who was based in

Ammanford Ammanford ( ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census the community had a population of 5,445, and the wider built up area had a population of 8,285. Ammanford is se ...

, was a speaker on social affairs. The family moved to

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, where Justine was educated at

West Bridgford School The West Bridgford School is a co-educational comprehensive school with academy status in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. History Grammar school The school used to be a grammar school and was then known as The West Bridgford County ...

. As a pupil at West Bridgford Comprehensive School, she appeared to be heading for an acting career. Thornton was a member of the

Central Junior Television Workshop The Television Workshop, formerly known as the Central Junior Television Workshop, is a British organisation that offers training for young people in performance skills for television, film, radio and theatre. Open to anybody between the ages of 7 ...

at the age of 16. In 1987 she starred as Erica, a rebellious schoolgirl, in "The Visit", the hour-long opening episode of '' Hardwicke House'', an ITV sitcom that was later pulled from the schedules after only two episodes had been transmitted following a backlash over its content. In 1988, she appeared as "Chrissie" in an episode of the long-running children's programme ''Dramarama'' titled "Snap Decision", which was aired in January 1989. Putting her acting career behind her, Thornton read Law at

Robinson College, Cambridge Robinson College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1977, it is one of the newest Oxbridge colleges and is unique in having been intended, from its inception, for both ...

, graduating in 1992. She became a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

in 1994.

Career

Thornton practised in Environmental Law, latterly at 39 Essex Chambers, before she was appointed a judge. The 2010 edition of ''Legal 500'', the lawyers' directory described her as "first class". She was appointed an Advisor to the

British Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

on Biotechnology and the Environment under

New Labour New Labour is the political philosophy that dominated the history of the British Labour Party from the mid-late 1990s to 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The term originated in a conference slogan first used by the ...

in 2000, a role she held until 2005 and was later on the Attorney-General's C Panel. She was later Chairwoman of SERA, Labour's Environment campaign. She has also acted on behalf of the

Welsh Assembly The Senedd ( ; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

, and in 2009 was shortlisted for

Chambers and Partners Chambers and Partners (often noted elsewhere as Chambers & Partners) is a research firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that produces international rankings for the legal industry. Orbach and Chambers Orbach and Chambers Publishing Lim ...

"Environmental and Planning Junior of the Year". Thornton has worked on several law-related publications, as general editor of Sweet and Maxwell's ''Encyclopedia of Environmental Law'', and a

co-author Collaborative writing is a procedure in which two or more persons work together on a text of some kind (e.g., academic papers, reports, creative writing, projects, and business proposals). It is often the norm, rather than the exception, in many ac ...

of Sweet and Maxwell's textbook on

Environmental law Environmental laws are laws that protect the environment. The term "environmental law" encompasses treaties, statutes, regulations, conventions, and policies designed to protect the natural environment and manage the impact of human activitie ...

. She also co-authored the ''Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 Law Society Legislation Guides''. She became an Associate Governor of Brookfield Primary School in 2009. Thornton was appointed

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

(QC) in January 2016, and a Deputy High Court Judge in May 2017. In January 2019, it was announced Thornton would be appointed a judge of the High Court of England and Wales, with her appointment taking effect on 28 February 2019. She is assigned to the Queen's Bench Division. She was appointed a

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 2019 upon her appointment to the High Court. Thornton is an honorary fellow of

Personal life

Thornton is married to former Labour Party Leader

Ed Miliband Edward Samuel Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024. He has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for D ...

. They met in 2002 and live together at

Dartmouth Park Dartmouth Park is a district of north west London in the London Borough of Camden, north of Charing Cross. The area adjoins Highgate and Highgate Cemetery (to the north) and Kentish Town (to the south). Parliament Hill, London, Parliament Hill ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames and the City of London. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshi ...

. The couple were engaged in March 2010, and married at Langar Hall near Nottingham on 27 May 2011. They have two sons, born 2009 and 2010. Thornton was a close friend of Frances Osborne, the wife of former Conservative

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

George Osborne George Gideon Oliver Osborne (born 23 May 1971) is a British retired politician and newspaper editor who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016 and as First Secretary of State from 2015 to 2016 in the Cameron government. A ...

, whom she met whilst studying for the Bar in London.

References

External links

*
Justine Thornton's Profile at BFI Film and TV Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Justine 1970 births Living people Lawyers from Manchester English people of Welsh descent People from Nottingham Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire English television actresses People educated at West Bridgford School Alumni of Robinson College, Cambridge English barristers British women lawyers Spouses of British politicians 21st-century King's Counsel Miliband family Lawyers awarded damehoods