The Secretary of State for Justice has appointed His Honour
Peter Rook QC as a judicial member of the Parole Board. In
addition, the Chair of the Parole Board, Caroline Corby, has
designated His Honour Peter Rook QC as the Board’s Vice
Chair.
The Parole Board is an Executive Non-Departmental Public Body
sponsored by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). It works with its
criminal justice partners to protect the public by risk
assessing prisoners to decide whether they can be safely
released into the community. It was established by the
Criminal Justice Act 1967.
Parole Board Vice Chairs are approved by the Secretary of
State. The Vice Chair will be expected to share in the
leadership and governance of the Parole Board.
Appointments and re-appointments to the Parole Board are
regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Biography
His Honour Peter Rook QC was called to the Bar in 1973 and
appointed a Queens Counsel in 1991. In June 2005 he was
appointed a Senior Circuit Judge to sit at the Old Bailey
retiring at the end of March 2017. He also sat as a judge in
the Court of Appeal. He sat as a coroner between 2017 and
2019.
Peter was Chair of the Criminal Bar Association from 2002
until 2003. He was head of chambers at 18 Red Lion Chambers
from 2002 until 2005. He is the co-author of a leading
textbook now in its fifth edition ‘Sexual Offences: Law and
Practice’.
