There are twelve members on the Sentencing Advisory Panel. The members include judges, academics and criminal justice practitioners, as well as public representatives. They have all been appointed by the Lord Chancellor, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Lord Chief Justice. Find out more about the members of the Panel below:
Back row (left to right): Judge Philip Clegg, Kevin McCormac (Head of Secretariat), Judge Howard Riddle, Christopher Woolley, David Mallen, Joan Webster, Judge Anthony Ansell, Michael Morgan, Anne Fuller JP, Heather Harker, Professor Andrew Ashworth
Front row (left to right): Professor Frances Heidensohn, John Staples, Lesley Dix (Secretary), Professor Martin Wasik, Joanna Crowley, Amritlal Devani
Professor Andrew Ashworth, QC (Chairman)
Vinerian Professor of English Law, University of Oxford, since 1997; member of the Criminal Committee of the Judicial Studies Board; author of Sentencing and Criminal Justice; formerly UK representative and Chair of the Select Committee of Experts on Sentencing (Council of Europe)
Appointed: 1 July 1999; re-appointed 1 July 2002; re-appointment approved from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2009.
HH Judge Anthony Ansell
A Barrister for 10 years then a Solicitor for a further 15 before being appointed to the Bench; during this time involved with the Finchley Law Centre and the Citizens Advice Bureau; currently a Circuit Judge in London; has been a Judge for nearly 10 years covering Criminal Family Civil and Employment Appeals; syndicate leader for the Judicial Studies Board, currently on Family law issues, and previously on Human Rights and Civil law.
Appointed: 1 July 2005; re-appointed to 30 June 2011
John Crawforth
Having worked in the National Probation Service for over 30 years, is now Chief Officer in the Greater Manchester area; works with the Prison Service on resettlement initiatives and promoting diversity; has been active in improving communications with sentencers and currently represents Probation on the NOMS (National Offender Management Service) Sentencer Forum.
Appointed: 16 May 2007; re-appointment approved from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2011
Amritlal Devani
Has worked in the public and voluntary sectors for 35 years; has a particular interest in Equality and Diversity issues; was Executive Director for the Racial Equality Council between 1993 and 2004; prior to this worked as an Asian Development Officer for the Society for the Blind; Race Relations Advisor for the Home Office; has been an Associate Member of the General Medical Council since 2000.
Appointed: 1 July 2005; re-appointed to 30 June 2009
Anne Fuller, OBE, JP
Magistrate since 1975, sitting in the Adult, Youth and Family Proceedings Courts. Tribunal Adjudicator. Director of SOVA. Vice President (former Chairman) of the Magistrates Association. Retired market research executive. Former member of the MA’s Sentencing Committee and of the Home Secretary’s Task Force for Youth Justice. Member of the National Steering Group for Demonstration Projects for Community Sentences. Tutor for the Judicial Studies Board 1996-2000.
Appointed: 1 July 1999; re-appointed 1 July 2002; re-appointment approved from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2009.
Professor Frances Heidensohn
Visiting Professor, Sociology Department, London School of Economics; previously Professor of Social Policy, Goldsmiths’ College, University of London (1994 to 2004); Commissioner for Judicial Appointments since December 2001; author of several books including Crime and Society and Women and Crime; former Associate Editor of the British Journal of Criminology; former Chair of the East London and City Health Authority; Fellow of The Academy of Social Sciences; received the 2004 Sellin Glueck award of the American Society of Criminology for contributions to international criminology.
Appointed: 1 July 1999; re-appointed 1 July 2002; re-appointment approved from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2009.
David Mallen, CBE
Adviser to the Department for Education and Skills; formerly Chairman of the Examinations Appeals Panel; Chairman, Bradford Education Policy Partnership; Visiting Professor, University of London Institute of Education; former Chief Education Officer of the Inner London Education Authority; former County Education Officer, East Sussex
Appointed: 1 July 1999; re-appointed 1 July 2002; re-appointment approved from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2009.
Michael Morgan
Director of the Change Partnership; Member of the Yorkshire Arts and Business Board 2000-2004; Non-executive Director, Royal Hull Hospitals Trust, 1996-1999; Vice Chairman of the Yorkshire and Northern and Yorkshire Regional Health Authorities, 1991-1996; member of the advisory group supporting the Chief Medical Officer for England's review of patient safety, announced by the Department of Health in December 2004.
Appointed: 1 April 2001; re-appointed 1 July 2002; re-appointment approved from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2009.
Judge Howard Riddle
District Judge (Magistrates’ Courts) since 1995 (formerly Metropolitan Stipendiary Magistrate), sitting in South East London. Also sits in the Youth Court, the Family Proceedings Court and as an Independent Prison Adjudicator. Judge Riddle joined the Panel in July 2004
Appointed: 2 August 2004; re-appointment approved from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2011.
John Staples
independent member of the Parole Board of England and Wales since 1998; mentor to serving Governors since 2001; joined Her Majesty’s Prison Service (HMPS) in 1966 as an Assistant Governor, and retired in 1998 as an Assistant Director. Trustee of Compass drug referral agency and Chair of York Family Mediation Service.
Appointed: 14 July 2003; re-appointment approved from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2011.
Joan Webster, QPM
former Deputy Chief Constable, Gwent Police, with responsibility for operational policy and the administration of criminal justice; represented the Association of Chief Police Officers on the Gwent Area Criminal Justice Liaison Committee; former member of the Home Secretary’s Task Force on Youth Justice
Appointed: 1 February 2000; re-appointed 1 July 2002; re-appointment approved from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2009.
Christopher Woolley
Chief Crown Prosecutor for South Wales; joined the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in 1986, moving to Wales in 1994; member of the Department for Constitutional Affairs’ Standing Committee on the Welsh language, the National Assembly Committee on Legal Wales, and Chair of the Local Criminal Justice Board for South Wales; Chairman of the Family Group of the four Welsh CPS areas; Chairman of the Criminal Justice Operational Group for Gwent; Tribunal Adjudicator and Member of the QC Selection Panel for England and Wales.
Appointed: 14 July 2003; re-appointment approved from 1 July 2005 to 30 June 2009.
