Former Labour minister joins Birmingham chambers

FORMER Labour government minister Mike O’Brien has joined Birmingham’s Number 5 Chambers as a barrister.  

Mr O’Brien, who  trained in Birmingham as a solicitor, will specialise in public law, where the rights of citizens and the public sector interact.

He said: “I made the law in Parliament and now I want to apply it in the courts as an advocate. I was the minister who took through the Commons the Human Rights Act, major legislation on the NHS, two Pensions Acts, the Companies Act, freedom of information and immigration and asylum laws.

Elected to parliament as MP for North Warwickshire in 1992, his ministerial career included spells in the Foreign Office, Home Office and Department for Health. He lost his seat to the Conservatives in last year’s General Election by a tiny margin – 54 votes.  

Mr O’Brien said: “I come from the West Midlands, I trained as a lawyer in Birmingham and have a home locally.  I have strong contacts there and I am proud of the region being known as a centre of legal expertise with some strong firms and a Bar that is highly rated.”

Tony McDaid, practice director at No5 Chambers, said “I am pleased that Mike has recognised the strength of the public law group at Chambers and has decided to lend his not inconsiderable reputation to it. We have a growing number of former government ministers and law makers enhancing our roster of tenants which is good news for our business model and also for the clients our barristers represent.”

Mr O’Brien  was a lecturer in contract and business law from 1981 to 1987.  He practised criminal law from 1987 to 1992 dealing with insider dealing, fraud, five cases of murder and a defendant in the Knightsbridge safe deposit robbery – allegedly the biggest robbery in British history.  He was also a Solicitor Advocate for two years.