Doughty Street Chambers’ Kirsty Brimelow KC, a former chair of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), has succeeded Barbara Mills KC as chair of the Bar Council of England and Wales.
Brimelow took office on 1 January 2026 and will continue the work of her predecessor in leading the profession’s opposition to the government’s proposals to scrap jury trials for crimes that carry a likely sentence of less than three years, the Bar Council said.
Her predecessor Mills’s final act as chair was to sign a joint declaration, together with Scottish, Irish and Northern Irish colleagues – leaders of the so-called Four Bars – urging the UK government to reconsider the plans.
The Bar Council added that Brimelow’s other priorities will include “greater investment across all jurisdictions, especially in criminal legal aid but without losing sight of need in family and civil courts”, as well as putting the spotlight on “children in the justice system”.
Brimelow said: “It is both an honour and a responsibility to serve my profession as chair of the Bar. I will bring my cross-jurisdictional expertise to overcome challenges and embrace opportunities for barristers and people delivering and accessing justice. I also will lead with courage and kindness.”
Practising in criminal, international and public law, Brimelow brings a wealth of experience to the role, having previously served as chair of the CBA from 2022-23 and, before that, as the first female chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee (2012-18).
As chair, she will lead the Bar Council’s first all-female leadership team. Heidi Stonecliffe KC, a prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service, has become the first employed barrister to hold the post of vice chair, while Lucinda Orr, a partner at London firm Enyo Law, continues in her role as treasurer. In addition, Amelia Clegg chairs the influential Young Barristers’ Committee.
They will be assisted by chief executive Malcolm Cree, who is retiring in March, and his successor, Jim Morris, former military assistant to the UK prime minister, whose appointment was announced in December.
Mills, who has returned to practice as co-head of family law set 4 Paper Buildings, will remain on the council as past chair.
Brimelow was called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn in 1991 and began practice in 1993. She attained the rank of Queen’s (now King’s) Counsel in 2011.
Throughout her career, she has been deeply involved in Bar politics, serving on several key committees. Notably in 2022, as chair of the CBA, Brimelow led negotiations with the government to increase legal aid fees by refusing to accept returns and new instructions during ‘days of action’.
CBA members later voted to end the long-running action in October 2022 after the then Conservative government offered a new pay deal.
Her judicial experience includes appointments as a deputy High Court judge in the King’s Bench Division in 2021 and as a Recorder in 2022. She is an accredited mediator.
Brimelow is also a recognised authority on international human rights, having consulted for the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In the UK, she led the proposal and drafting of FGM protection orders into law.
She has advised Denmark on sexual offences law reform and contributed to the first UN resolution on eliminating harmful practices related to accusations of witchcraft and ritual attacks.
When Brimelow sets out her priorities in her inaugural speech on 12 January, opposition to the jury reform plans is likely to feature heavily.
In their joint statement, the leaders of the Four Bars said there was no evidence the plan would reduce court backlogs and warned it would undermine public confidence in the criminal justice system.
They added: “Jurors provide an accumulation of life experience which marginalises extreme or unrepresentative views and, through the majority, delivers balanced and rounded decisions on behalf of the society from which its members were drawn.”
Mills signed the joint statement alongside Roddy Dunlop KC (dean, Faculty of Advocates), Sean Guérin SC (chair, The Bar of Ireland), and Donal Lunny KC (chair, The Bar of Northern Ireland).
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