Sir Peter Ribblesdale Thornton KC (born 17 October 1946Thornton, His Honour Sir Peter (Ribblesdale)
Who's Who) is a former Senior Circuit Judge and former Chief Coroner of England and Wales.

Legal career

Thornton is the son of Robert Ribblesdale Thornton CBE, a solicitor who served as

town clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a To ...

in Salford and then Leicester and as a deputy lieutenant of Leicestershire. He was educated at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , hea ...

and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. Th ...

. He was called to the bar (

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

) in 1969 and elected a Bencher in 2001. His trial and appellate practice included work in various jurisdictions, such as the

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and

Bermuda ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , ...

, and appearances pro bono in death penalty cases before the

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Augus ...

(which serves as a court of last resort for some Commonwealth realms). He is a founder and former head of London's

Doughty Street Doughty Street is a broad tree-lined street in the King's Cross district of the London Borough of Camden. The southern part is a continuation of the short John Street, which comes off Theobald's Road. The northern part crosses Guilford Street a ...

chambers. He chaired student disciplinary appeals at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = � ...

and

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world ...

. Thornton was made

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 or ...

in 1992, and became an editor of the practitioner text '' Archbold'' also in 1992. He was appointed an assistant recorder in 1994, became a recorder on 26 March 1997, and a deputy High Court judge in 2003. Thornton was appointed a circuit judge on the South Eastern circuit on 12 November 2007. In 2011, having been specially appointed Assistant Deputy Coroner, he presided over the inquest into the

Death of Ian Tomlinson Ian Tomlinson (7 February 1962 – 1 April 2009) was a newspaper vendor who collapsed and died in the City of London after being struck by a police officer during the 2009 G-20 summit protests. After an inquest jury returned a verdict of ...

, who died during protests at the 2009 G20 Summit in London. His appointment came after the Coroner for the City of London requested that ministers appoint an experienced figure. On 22 May 2012, it was announced Thornton would be appointed as the first Chief Coroner of England and Wales from 17 September 2012. In that capacity he continued to sit on the Administrative Court so he could hear judicial reviews for coronial cases. In 2015, his three-year term of office was extended to 1 October 2016, when he was succeeded by

Mark Lucraft Mark Lucraft, KC (born 1961 or 1962) is a British jurist and was Chief Coroner of England and Wales—the second person to occupy the role—from 2016 to 2020. In 2020—before relinquishing the role of Chief Coroner—he became Recorder of L ...

QC. Thornton reached the mandatory retirement age of 70, and retired as a Senior Circuit Judge, from 18 October 2016. He was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are t ...

in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to the administration of justice and the Coroner Service. In November 2020 Thornton was appointed to the

Independent Expert Panel The Independent Expert Panel (IEP) is a body of the British Houses of Parliament which determines the appropriate sanction for Members of Parliament in cases involving bullying, harassment or sexual misconduct referred to it by the Parliamentary C ...

which investigates misdemeanours by MPshttps://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/standards-and-financial-interests/parliaments-behaviour-code/independent-expert-panel-appointed/ In 1981, he married Susan Margaret Dalal; they have a son and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Peter Circuit judges (England and Wales) Living people Chief Coroners of England and Wales Knights Bachelor 1946 births Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge