Christopher Pitchford
British judge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sir Christopher John Pitchford (28 March 1947 – 18 October 2017)[1] was a senior British judge who was a Lord Justice of Appeal in England and Wales from 2010 until he retired because of ill health in 2017.
Sir Christopher Pitchford | |
|---|---|
In procession at Llandaff Cathedral in 2013 | |
| Lord Justice of Appeal | |
| In office 12 January 2010 – 29 March 2017 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Scott Baker |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 28 March 1947 |
| Died | 18 October 2017 (aged 70) |
Pitchford was educated at Queen's College, Taunton and studied law at Queen Mary, University of London. He was called to the Bar in 1969, becoming a Bencher of Middle Temple in 1996. He became a Queen's Counsel in 1987 and appointed a Deputy High Court judge in 1996. Pitchford was appointed a full judge of that court on 28 September 2000 and received the customary knighthood. He was a Presiding Judge of the Wales and Chester Circuit from 2002 to 2005. On 12 January 2010, Pitchford became a Lord Justice of Appeal, and was subsequently appointed to the Privy Council.[2]
He was appointed to chair the Undercover Policing Inquiry, which was announced by Theresa May, the Home Secretary on 12 March 2015.[3]
He announced that he would step down from the Inquiry in May 2017 following the diagnosis of motor neurone disease,[4] and he died in October 2017.[5]