He was educated at
Bristol Grammar School and
St John's College, Oxford. He was called to the bar at
Gray's Inn in 1981, and
appointed Queen's Counsel in 2002. He was a Recorder of the Crown Court (Midland Circuit) from 2009 to 2014. He was selected to present a seminar on media law to the Leveson Inquiry Panel in 2011. In 2013, he was appointed a Deputy High Court Judge and he became a judge of the
High Court of Justice (Queen's Bench Division) on 11 June 2014. Following his appointment to the High Court he was awarded the customary
knighthood. In March 2017 he was appointed Judge in Charge of the Media and Communications List. In March 2018 he was appointed director of Senior Judiciary Training. In January 2019 he became chair of the High Court Judges’ Association. In July 2020 his appointment to the Court of Appeal was announced, and took effect on 3 February 2021. He was appointed Senior Judicial Commissioner of the
Judicial Appointments Commission for a period of three years from 1 June 2023 until 31 May 2026. == Publications ==