Sir Mark Hedley, DL (born 23 August 1946) is a British retired judge. He was a Justice of the High Court from 2002 to 2013.
Early life and education
Hedley was born on 23 August 1946 in London, England. He was brought up in Africa. He was educated at Framlingham College, then an all-boys private school. He studied law at the University of Liverpool, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree.
Legal career
Hedley was called to the bar at Gray's Inn in 1969 and made a bencher in 2002. He was appointed a Recorder in 1988 and a circuit judge for the Northern Circuit in 1992. On 11 January 2002, he was appointed a High Court judge, receiving the customary knighthood, and assigned to the Family Division. He retired on 10 January 2013.
Ecclesiastical career
Since 1975, Hedley has been a Reader (licensed lay minister) of the Church of England. In 2002, he was appointed Chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool. In August 2024 a BBC investigation revealed that Hedley had made Decisions in his role as Deputy President of Tribunals which meant that complaints against a priest were not able to be examined fully under the Clergy Discipline Measure. Hedley wrote in his Decision: "I think it could be proved that the respondent had some non-consensual homosexual relations with the complainant." However, he declined to send the case to a tribunal because he did not think it was possible to prove that the alleged victim was under the age of 18.
Honours
On 27 April 2015, Hedley was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of Merseyside.
He was awarded the Canterbury Cross for Services to the Church of England in 2022.
References
- ^ 'HEDLEY, Sir Mark', Who's Who 2017, A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 2016 accessed 18 Oct 2017
- ^ Elston, Laura (8 October 2004). "Judge who had to make the final decision". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
- "The Hon Mr Justice Hedley". Debrett's People of Today. Retrieved 6 January 2013.
- "No. 56455". The London Gazette. 16 January 2001. p. 541.
- "Retirement of a High Court Judge - the Honourable Sir Mark Hedley". www.justice.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 23 April 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
- "Why does the Church of England struggle to address abuse claims?". BBC News. 15 August 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
- "No. 61214". The London Gazette. 30 April 2015. p. 7986.
- "Archbishop of Canterbury honours outstanding people in 2022 Lambeth Awards". The Archbishop Of Canterbury. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
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