Sir John Thayne Forbes (born 28 June 1938) is a British retired judge and

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 ...

. As a High Court judge, he presided over the trial of

Harold Shipman Harold Frederick Shipman (14 January 1946 – 13 January 2004), known to acquaintances as Fred Shipman, was an English doctor in general practice and serial killer. He is considered to be one of the most prolific serial killers in modern ...

who was convicted of 15 murders in 2000 and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment. Shipman is now recognised as one of the most prolific serial killers in history. He led the

Al-Sweady Inquiry The Al-Sweady Inquiry was a five-year public inquiry led by Thayne Forbes which investigated accusations of mistreatment of prisoners by the British Army following the Battle of Danny Boy. The enquiry commenced its investigations in 2009. The i ...

, a five-year public enquiry that reported in 2014.

Early life

Forbes was born of Scottish parents on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

on 28 June 1938. He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

, a public school in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

, Hampshire, and at Wolverton Grammar School, a co-educational state

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

Wolverton Wolverton ( ) is a constituent town of Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of Milton Keynes urban ar ...

, Buckinghamshire. From 1957 to 1960, he studied law at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

(LLB) degree and a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

(LLM) degree.

Military service

From 1963 to 1966, Forbes served as an Instructor Lieutenant in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. On 2 December 1966, he was placed on the Emergency List for four years. This marked the end of military service and began the time period during which he was liable for call-up.

Legal career

Forbes was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1966. In 1984, he 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). On 13 March 1986, he was appointed a

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...

, a part-time judge. On 5 June 1990, he was appointed a Circuit Judge. From 1990 to 1993, he was an Official Referee of the

Technology and Construction Court The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

. He was elected

Bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher c ...

of 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 association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1991. On 24 May 1993, he was appointed a High Court Judge and was assigned to the

Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

. He presided over the trial of

, a serial killer who was convicted 2000. Between 2001 and 2004, he was Presiding Judge of the Technology and Construction Court. He retired from the High Court in January 2009. In 2009, the

was set up to investigate allegations that British service personnel had murdered and ill-treated detainees in Iraq in 2004. On 25 November 2009, Forbes was appointed chairman of the public inquiry. The report was published in December 2014 and concluded that the allegations of torture and murder were untrue.

Personal life

In 1960, Forbes married Celia Joan Elderton. Together they have one daughter and two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Thayne Living people British barristers Queen's Bench Division judges Knights Bachelor 1938 births 20th-century King's Counsel Alumni of University College London People from the Isle of Wight Royal Navy officers People educated at Winchester College Circuit judges (England and Wales) Official Referees (England and Wales)