Law Speakers

Ian MacFadyen is a respected consultant, coach and commentator. He has advised governments in the UK and overseas, coached senior public officials, and commented in print and television on public services, reform and the Budget.

His public service career finished in Namibia, advising the government, and South Africa, helping design a poverty relief programme.

He set out to be a lawyer and volunteered in a law centre, appearing at the Old Bailey. But, he was engrossed in advising ministers by the time he got the degree. He went on to work closely with government lawyers and advise ministers on employment protection and other matters while working on policy in the Prime Minister’s Efficiency Unit in the Cabinet Office.

He brought to that work direct experience of commissioning health services in County Durham and having to justify decisions face to face with the public. His audiences ranged from several hundred to a single person. He won many people over and replaced a decade of animosity with cooperation. Earlier he advised on artificial limb services, hospitals, addictions, medicines, delinquency and manpower in the Department of Health and Social Security. He began by assessing benefits.

In Luton he founded a battered wives refuge. In east London, he was a Liberal council candidate. In Leeds in 2010, he is chair of the Liberal Democrats’ city-wide campaign group.

He was on the management committee of a charity for young homeless people in London. In east London, he was a successful chair of governors at a popular multi-ethnic, multi-faith school. Currently he is an elder and trustee of a church charity in Leeds.

Welsh and Scots by background, brought up in England and internationalist in outlook, his talks, writing, consultancy, coaching and workshops, draw on local and global references. With amusing anecdotes and quotations from a wide range of sources including Calgacus and the Beatles he shares his deep understanding of politics, current affairs, government, leadership, the public sector and reform. His style is relaxed. Successes include persuading a political commissar outsourcing could advance the revolution, winning over trades unions and persuading a most senior government figure to change his mind.

After many years in high-level diplomacy Charles Crawford has a unique profile as an imaginative, dynamic and even provocative speaker who has addressed audiences large and small in English, Polish and Serbian

After an Honours degree in Jurisprudence from Oxford University he qualified as a Barrister before joining the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

From 1985-87 Charles served as Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe’s official Speechwriter, contributing ideas/language for speeches by the Foreign Secretary (major set-piece speeches, Parliamentary debates and less formal after-dinner remarks)

His first job on joining the FCO in 1979 was to head the Indonesia Section, followed by his first posting, to communist post-Tito Yugoslavia. He returned to London in 1984 and after a year on the Aviation Desk was appointed FCO Speech-writer. He was posted to South Africa in 1987 as part of the Embassy team led by Ambassador Robin Renwick working to end apartheid.

Returning to London in 1991 he worked in the FCO Department dealing with the Soviet Union as communist rule collapsed. He then spent three years in Moscow as Political Counsellor and then served three times as HM Ambassador: in Sarajevo (1996-1998); in Belgrade (2001-2003) and most recently in Poland (2003-2007).

In 1987 he wrote the FCO’s first Guide to Speech-Writing, a dynamic text full of real-life examples on how to write speeches – and how to weed out lugubrious mistakes. Two decades later it remains a core part of the FCO’s speech-drafting training

He subsequently contributed to speeches by members of the Royal Family and successive Prime Ministers, as well as different Ministers and other senior personalities in public and commercial life

He left the FCO at the end of 2007 to start a new career as writer, consultant, mediator and trainer. In 2009 he joined the UK Conservative Party candidates list

In recent months Charles Crawford led training courses for senior EU and other officials and private clients aimed at improving their communication skills. He has written for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Independent, DIPLOMAT and Total Politics.

In 2009 his audiences included the Headmasters Conference and Conservative Friends of Poland, as well as private groups and academic gatherings

In 2010 he and other former British Ambassadors in partnership with ADR Group launched a new senior strategic dispute resolution panel, ADRg Ambassadors

Charles Crawford’s trenchant observations on public policy issues are now available to a growing readership on his blog




Such honesty has no place in modern government…it’s bloody dangerous!
Andrew Dodge (Samizdata)

The most telling critique of this delusional foreign policy comes in regular instalments in the form of a blog by the former British ambassador to Poland, Charles Crawford. It’s called www.charlescrawford.biz, and if you want to know just how much in despair many of our diplomats are, this is the place to look
Dominic Lawson (The Times, 2010)

In 2005 a humorous FCO email he wrote as Ambassador to Warsaw (a satirical speech by Prime Minister Tony Blair damning other countries’ selfishness on EU Budget issues) caused a stir when it was leaked to the Sunday Times

His FCO written work was praised at the highest levels in London, NATO and the EU for its uncompromising dynamic style:

“fabulously readable and interesting analysis, with practical application … just about the best scenesetter [No10 staff] have ever seen”

“acrobatic and eye-catching in his use of language”

As a speaker Charles Crawford draws on dramatic episodes from his diplomatic career to explain wider policy themes, paradoxes and trends. His presentations are interesting and thought-provoking, but above all memorable

He is strong on foreign and public policy issues such as:

o Communism (and Vampires)
o Dealing with extremists and war criminals
o Climate change and PPP (perverse precautionary principles)
o Amazon Space: how the Internet is changing the strategic policy context
o International negotiation (as explained by Shrek, the Joker and Clint Eastwood)
o UK/European Union relations: Too Big (not) to Fail

Baroness Helena Kennedy QC grew up in Glasgow, raised from a working-class background. She has dedicated her professional life to giving a voice to those with the least power by championing civil liberties and promoting human rights.

Elevated to the House of Lords in 1997 – she has argued with passion, wit and humanity for social justice and written and broadcasted on a range of issues, from medical negligence to women and childrens rights.

Beyond the House of Lords, Helena Kennedy is an acclaimed public speaker, regularly requested for lectures and after-dinner speaking.

As a member of the Doughty Street Chambers in London she has been involved in many prominent cases; including the Brighton Bombing, the Michael Bettany espionage trial, the Guildford Four appeal and the bombing of the Israeli embassy. She has acted for many battered women who have killed their husbands.

She was a British member of the International Bar Association Task Force on Terrorism. She currently chairs the inquiry for the Royal College of Pathologists and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health into infant death, following miscarriages of justice where mothers were wrongly convicted of infanticide.

She is a life peer participating in the House of Lords on issues of human rights, civil liberties, social justice and culture.

From 1992 to 1997, she was chair of the constitutional reform group Charter 88, persuading the Labour government to make devolution and human rights legislation central to thier manifesto. She is also on the board of the Independent newspaper and chair of the Human Genetics Commission, advising government on the ethical, social and legal issues related to genetic science.

An active and prominent promoter of education issues, Kennedy was commissioner on the Hamlyn National Commission on Education from 1991 to 1993. In 1997, her report Learning Works, for the Further Education Funding Council sparked great changes within education policy. Subsequently, The Helena Kennedy Foundation was established to help disadvantaged students into higher education.

In 1993, she became the first chancellor of Oxford Brookes University from 1993 to 2001 and is now president of the School of Oriental and African Studies at London University, the National Children’s Bureau and vice president of the Association of Women Barristers and the Haldane Society.

She is chair of The British Council and the Human Genetics Commission. A trustee of the Club of Three: a tri-lateral network of countries comprising UK, France, Germany, and the KPMG Foundation. A member of the Foreign Policy Centre advisory council, the International Centre for Prison Studies, World Bank Institute, the Independent News & Media board and the Académie Universelle des Cultures. She is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the City and Guilds of London Institute.

As a media personality, she has presented radio and television programmes including Heart of the Matter, Raw Deal and the award-winning Time, Gentlemen, Please for the BBC, and is a frequent guest on both radio and television, including Any Questions, Newsnight, Question Time and The Today Programme.

She made the film Mothers Behind Bars, which radically changed policy within women’s prisons. She created the highly political drama series Blind Justice, which lifted the lid on many of the legal scandals of the era.

Helena Kennedy’s new book Just Law: the changing face of justice and why it matters is now available – click here to review or purchase

David Mellor was born in Wareham, Dorset in 1949. He was educated at Swanage Grammar School, Christ’s College Cambridge and the Inns of Court School of Law.

He was called to the bar by the Inner Temple in 1972, and became a Queen’s Counsel in 1987. He was appointed a Privy Counsellor in 1990.

David Mellor won the marginal seat of Putney from Labour in 1979, and increased his majority at three successive elections, until his defeat in the Labour landslide of 1997, when the swing to Labour in Putney was one of the three lowest in Greater London.

David Mellor joined Mrs Thatcher’s Government in 1981, and was for four years her youngest Minister. Between 1981 and 1992 he served in six different Departments of State, including each of the big three – The Home Office, where he was Minister of State responsible for criminal justice policy for 5 years, the Foreign Office – where he was responsible for East-West relations and the Middle East, and the Treasury. He joined the Cabinet in 1990 as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, in charge of overall Government expenditure, and in May 1992 became founding Secretary of State at the department of National Heritage.

Since leaving the Government David Mellor has pursued a multi-faceted career as a Businessman, Broadcaster and Journalist.

David consults clients including BAe Systems, Ernst & Young, and Britain’s biggest management consultants, Cap Gemini on issues as diverse as acquisition, legality and governance

David Mellor has presented more than 400 programmes for BBC National Radio, on four of the BBC’s five national networks.

On television, David Mellor hosted two seasons of BBC2’s “The Midnight Hour”.

David Mellor writes two weekly columns for national newspapers. He is a critic for the Mail on Sunday, and a columnist for the London Evening Standard. For three years he was an Art’s columnist for the Guardian, and has also been a columnist for the Daily Express and the Daily Mirror and for several years wrote the long established Man of the People column on current events for the Sunday People.

Pam Giddy is director of The Power Inquiry. The Power Inquiry was set up in 2004 to explore how political participation and involvement can be increased and deepened in Britain following all time low turn-outs at the polling booths and a seemingly increasing public distrust of politicians and the political system. Its work is based on the primary belief that a healthy democracy requires the active participation of its citizens. With a long history, and interest, in constitutional and democratic reform issues, Pam established the Power Inquiry in 2004. She was appointed to the Content Board of Ofcom in May 2003.

After graduating in 1989 with a degree in Law from LSE, Pam joined Charter88, the newly formed constitutional reform movement. It was there that she launched the Violations of Rights series of publications, which set out to show how the lack of specific rights had an impact on us all. She left to cut her journalistic teeth on Cosmopolitan magazine in 1993 as Careers and News editor and then at the BBC with Newsnight, looking after political coverage.

She produced a series of films for the BBC on social exclusion in Salford, Manchester for the BBC before becoming the first female director of Charter88 in 1999. She has been widely consulted by the Government on issues relating to youth and diversity and is currently working on launching a major inquiry into the state of democracy and participation.

Joshua Rozenberg is Britain’s best-known commentator on the law. He was the BBC’s legal correspondent for 15 years before moving in 2000 to The Daily Telegraph, where he edited the paper’s legal coverage until the end of 2008. He writes also for the London Evening Standard and the Law Society’s Gazette.

Joshua is known for his independence, his authority and his ability to explain complicated legal issues with simplicity, clarity and wit. Because he trained as a lawyer before becoming a journalist, he is often the first port of call for broadcasters faced with a breaking legal story. Well respected by lawyers and the judiciary, he is frequently asked to chair or address legal conferences and other events. Joshua launched the popular BBC series Law in Action as its first presenter.

He has a particular interest in constitutional reform, dating back to his time as producer of The Week in Westminster on Radio 4. Freedom of expression is another of his interests, his most recent book being Privacy and the Press (OUP, 2004, updated 2005). Earlier books include Trial of Strength, which examined the tensions between ministers and judges under the last Conservative Government, The Search for Justice, an anatomy of the law in the mid-1990s and The Case for the Crown, which charted the launch of the Crown Prosecution Service.

After taking a law degree at Oxford he trained as a solicitor, qualifying in 1976. He holds an honorary doctorate in law from the University of Hertfordshire and is an Honorary Bencher of Gray’s Inn.

Dr Hans Blix is widely known as a pre-eminent world statesman in the advancement of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Dr Blix served as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, 1981-1997, and is now Director General-Emeritus. In 2000 he was appointed by the UN Secretary-General to head the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC).

Born in Sweden, Dr Blix studied at the University of Uppsala; at Columbia University; and at Cambridge University, where he received his Ph.D. At Stockholm University, he attained a doctorate in law and served as a professor in international law.

From 1963 to 1976, he served in the Swedish foreign ministry, and in 1978 became Sweden’s foreign minister.
Dr Blix has written several books on subjects associated with international and constitutional law.

In 1988, Blix received the Henry DeWolf Smyth Nuclear Statesman Award, and in 1997 he was awarded the Gold Medal for distinguished service in the field of nuclear affairs by the Uranium Institute, the predecessor to the World Nuclear Association.

Duncan Smith is a Director of iCompli® and Principal Trainer on Information Law and Privacy. He specialises in delivering real world compliance solutions in the arena of information law, privacy and corporate social responsibility.

Duncan does not believe in ‘brandishing the compliance stick’; preferring instead to deliver practical, technology-led solutions to help manage both the legal and cultural risks associated with information management. Duncan is a champion of the principle that “It’s not just about compliance with legislation; it’s about building a business case around compliance”.

He is an excellent speaker and motivator having delivered solutions to a wide cross section of UK industries. Duncan develops and delivers training courses for many of the UK’s leading Professional Bodies and is currently delivering information law and privacy courses for the Institute of Direct Marketing (IDM), the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) and leading digital marketing consultancy e-Consultancy.com.

Areas of Expertise

Information law and privacy (ILAP) Data Protection Act 1998 Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 Telecommunications (Lawful Business Practice) (Interception of Communications) Regulations 2000 Trans-border e-marketing Freedom of Information Act 2000

Risk@Work™ Illicit image abuse in corporate networks Olympic Marketing and UK legislation Business Risk assessment Business Process Modelling and Business Process Optimisation (BPO)

Dr James Bellini is a futurist, analyst, broadcaster and regular consultant to business and governments around the world. James is an expert in the future outlook for business and particularly within the context of the Internet, virtual markets and related developments in e-culture and business re-invention. He focuses on key management challenges related to issues of collaborative commerce, new business ‘eco-systems’, future consumer trends and concerns about the security of digital information flows and transaction data.

After a Masters from Cambridge, a PhD from London School of Economics and a spell as university teacher he was the first British member of the renowned US-headquartered futurology ‘think-tank’, the Hudson Institute founded by Dr Herman Kahn. He subsequently joined BBC TV as editor/presenter of The Money Programme, Newsnight and Panorama. This was the beginning of more than twenty years as a television programme-maker on business and politics, including three years with Financial Times Television and four years with Sky News.

Dr Bellini was a senior consultant with the Henley Centre for Forecasting and the Economist Intelligence Unit and regularly works with leading IT names such as Hewlett Packard exploring the ‘New Economy’. He is founder of Media Counsellors, a UK-based communications consultancy and the author of numerous books, special reports and analytical papers on social, political and business trends.

Recent speaking and conference moderating invitations have taken him to Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Dubai, the United States and to practically every country in Europe. His latest UK engagements include work with — amongst others — Institute of Management, London Business School, Lloyds TSB, Legal & General, Microsoft, Camelot, Arcadia, Colgate-Palmolive, Motorola, Compaq and DERA [the Defence Research Agency]. He was recently engaged by the UK Cabinet Office on the launch of its e-government strategy.

Speaker on the future; conference facilitator; TV broadcaster

Member of the global future forum

James describes himself as ‘an historian of the future’ with a close interest in key challenges faced by current and future management up to Horizon 2020:

• the business implications of emerging technologies – Internet III and the wireless world
• new business ‘eco-systems’
• the shape and style of tomorrow’s company
• the demographic revolution and its radical impact on the future marketplace:
• rise of the aspirational consumer
• post-family households
• financial services – pensions, savings products, insurance
• government and public services
• issues of work/life balance
• the ‘mosaic’ society

Dr Bellini is also a regular choice as moderator/chairman at leading conferences for business and government around the world.

He is currently writing a book on the psychological profiles of 21st century companies.