Secretary of State for Justice
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Member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom

This article is about the United Kingdom government cabinet minister. For the Spanish minister, see Secretary of State for Justice (Spain).

United Kingdom

Secretary of State for Justice

Incumbent

Shabana Mahmood

since 5 July 2024

Ministry of JusticeStyleJustice Secretary

(informal)

The Right Honourable

(within the UK and Commonwealth)TypeMinister of the CrownStatusSecretary of StateMember ofReports toThe Prime MinisterSeatWestminsterNominatorThe Prime MinisterAppointerThe Monarch

(on the advice of the Prime Minister)Term lengthAt His Majesty's PleasurePrecursorSecretary of State for Constitutional AffairsFormation9 May 2007First holderThe Lord FalconerSalary£159,038 per annum (2022)[1]

(including £86,584 MP salary)[2]WebsiteOfficial Website

The secretary of state for justice is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Ministry of Justice. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. Since the office's inception, the incumbent has concurrently been appointed Lord Chancellor.

The officeholder works alongside the other justice ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow secretary of state for justice, and the performance of the secretary of state is also scrutinised by the Justice Select Committee.[3]

According to what is generally known as a justice minister in many other countries, the justice secretary's remit includes:

His Majesty's Prison Service in England and Wales

Matters of probation

The UK’s relations with the governments of the Crown Dependencies (Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man)

The then Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer of Thoroton, was appointed to the post of Secretary of State for Justice when it was created in 2007. The office of the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs was abolished, along with the Department for Constitutional Affairs. The home secretary, John Reid, told Parliament that future secretaries of state for justice would be MPs rather than peers.

For Lord Chancellors before 2003, see List of Lord Chancellors and Lord Keepers. For Secretaries of State between 2003 and 2007, see Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs.

Secretary of State Term of office Political party Government Charles Falconer,

Baron Falconer of Thoroton[4] 9 May 2007 28 June 2007 Labour Blair

(III) Jack Straw[n 1][5]

MP for Blackburn 28 June 2007 6 May 2010 Brown Kenneth Clarke[6]

MP for Rushcliffe 12 May 2010 6 September 2012 Conservative Cameron-Clegg

(Coalition) Chris Grayling[7]

MP for Epsom and Ewell 6 September 2012 8 May 2015 Michael Gove[8]

MP for Surrey Heath 8 May 2015 14 July 2016 Cameron

(II) Liz Truss[9]

MP for South West Norfolk 14 July 2016 11 June 2017 May

(I) David Lidington[10][11]

MP for Aylesbury 11 June 2017 8 January 2018 May

(II) David Gauke[12]

MP for South West Hertfordshire 8 January 2018 24 July 2019 Robert Buckland[13]

MP for South Swindon 24 July 2019 15 September 2021 Johnson

(I) Johnson

(II) Dominic Raab[14]

MP for Esher and Walton 15 September 2021 6 September 2022 Brandon Lewis

MP for Great Yarmouth 6 September 2022 25 October 2022 Truss Dominic Raab

MP for Esher and Walton 25 October 2022 21 April 2023 Sunak Alex Chalk

MP for Cheltenham 21 April 2023 5 July 2024 Shabana Mahmood

MP for Birmingham Ladywood 5 July 2024 Incumbent Labour Starmer

Constitutional Reform Act 2005

Lord Chancellor