February 3, 2024

ICS Member Becomes Solicitor General for England and Wales

Longtime International Churchill Society (ICS) member Robert Courts KC MP was formally sworn in as the Solicitor General for England and Wales at a ceremony that took place in January. Courts had been named to the position by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last December. He was previously Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport and then Chair of the Defence Select Committee until his appointment as Solicitor General.

The Solicitor General supports the Attorney General, who acts as the Government’s chief legal adviser. Alongside the Attorney, the Solicitor General oversees the work of the Law Officers’ Departments: the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office, the Government Legal Department and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.

Courts had been a member of ICS for many years already when he was elected to succeed David Cameron as the Member of Parliament for Witney and West Oxfordshire in October 2016. The constituency includes both Blenheim Palace, where Winston Churchill was born in 1874, and Bladon, where Churchill was buried in 1965. Courts has written often for Finest Hour and participated in many ICS events. Here are links to some of his contributions:

Courts also contributed to the special issue of Finest Hour commemorating the life of Queen Elizabeth II. In his article, he described the reaction in the House of Commons when the news of the Queen’s death first broke. You can download the issue here: