Attoney General

The Rt Hon Baroness Scotland of Asthal QC

Patricia Scotland was appointed Attorney General in Gordon Brown's first Cabinet as Prime Minister in June 2007.

Baroness Scotland was previously Home Office Minister of State for the Criminal Justice System and Law Reform from June 2003 to June 2007, and also spokesperson for the Department of Trade and Industry on women and equality issues in the House of Lords.

The Baroness also served as Parliamentary Secretary at the Lord Chancellor's Department from 2001 to 2003, and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office from 1999 to 2001.  She was also an Alternate UK Government Representative of the European Convention from 2002 to 2003.

After graduating with LLB Hons (London), Patricia Scotland was called to the Bar, Middle Temple, in 1977, received Silk in 1991 and became a Bencher in 1997.

She is a member of the Bar of Antigua and the Commonwealth of Dominica.  She is an Honorary Fellow of The Society for Advanced Legal Studies, Wolfson College, Cambridge and of Cardiff University. 

She is a former member of the Bar Public Relations Committee, Race Relations Committee, Professional Conduct Committee, Judicial Studies Board Ethnic Minority Advisory Committee, House of Commons Working Party on Child Abduction, Legal Advisory Panel on the National Consumer Council, the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services and the National Advisory Committee on Mentally Disordered Offenders.

In addition, she was formerly one of Her Majesty's Commissioners for Racial Equality, a former Honorary President of the Trinity Hall Law Society, a former Chairman of the ILEA Disciplinary Tribunal, a member of the BBC World Service Consultative Group, Chairman of HMG Caribbean Advisory Group, the Dominican Representative of the Council of The British Commonwealth Ex-Service league and served as a member of the Millennium Commission from 1994-99.

She has specialised in family and public law and has chaired and represented parties in a number of Inquiries relating to Child Abuse, Mental Health and Housing. She was voted Black Woman of the Year (Law) 1992.

She was founder member and former Head of Chambers of 1 Gray's Inn Square.

Baroness Scotland was created a peer as Baroness Scotland of Asthal in 1997 and was raised to the Privy Council in July 2001.

She married in 1985 and has two sons.