The Lord Chancellor has approved the reappointments of His Honour Jeremy Roberts KC and His Honour Peter Rook KC to the Parole Board.
His Honour Jeremy Roberts KC has been reappointed for a period of 2 years from 1 August 2025 until 31 July 2027.
His Honour Peter Rook KC has been reappointed for a period of 4 years from 1 February 2026 until 31 January 2030.
The Parole Board is an executive Non-Departmental Public Body sponsored by the Ministry of Justice. It works with its criminal justice partners to protect the public by risk assessing prisoners to decide whether they can be safely released into the community. It was established by the Criminal Justice Act 1967.
Parole Board members are appointed, by ministers, under the Criminal Justice Act 2003. Appointments and reappointments to the Parole Board (with the exception of judicial members) are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments.
Biographies
His Honour Jeremy Roberts KC
His Honour Jeremy Roberts KC has enjoyed a distinguished judicial career, including a decade of service as a judge at the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) from 2001 to 2011. He was called to the Bar in 1964 and took Silk in 1982. He has also served as a Recorder and Tutor Judge, demonstrating a longstanding commitment to the legal profession.
His Honour Jeremy Roberts KC was first appointed as a judicial member of the Parole Board in 2010.
His Honour Peter Rook KC
His Honour Peter Rook KC was called to the Bar in 1973 and took Silk in 1991. In June 2005, he was appointed a Senior Circuit Judge to sit at the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) retiring in 2017. He also sat as a judge in the Court of Appeal. He sat as a Coroner between 2017 and 2019. He sat as a judge in retirement until September 2024. He was appointed Parole Board Vice Chair in January 2020 and will serve in this role until 5 December 2025.
His Honour Peter Rook KC was Chair of the Criminal Bar Association from 2002 until 2003. He was Head of Chambers, at 18 Red Lion Chambers, from 2002 until 2005. He is the co-author of a leading textbook now in its sixth edition "Sexual Offences: Law and Practice" - seventh edition to be published in 2025.
