Oliver Heald MP appointed Solicitor General for England and Wales
New Solicitor General announced.
The Prime Minister, the Rt Hon David Cameron MP, has appointed Mr Oliver Heald, MP for North East Hertfordshire, to be Solicitor General. Mr Heald takes up his post with immediate effect.
The Solicitor General supports the Attorney General across the range of his responsibilities and can lawfully exercise any of his functions.
The Attorney General, Dominic Grieve QC MP said:
I welcome Oliver Heald to my Department. Oliver is an experienced, hardworking and respected colleague with a wealth of experience and I look forward to working with him on the challenges ahead.
I also wish to pay tribute to the outgoing Solicitor General, Edward Garnier QC MP, whose stalwart support and wise counsel have been invaluable to me over the past 2 years. In particular Edward has worked tirelessly and very effectively to improve the tools available to prosecutors in fraud and corruption cases through his work on proposed statutory deferred prosecution agreements.
Oliver Heald MP said:
I am happy and honoured to be appointed to this ancient office with its responsibility to advise and to uphold the rule of law. I believe this is a wonderful opportunity for me to work with the Attorney General and ministerial colleagues to achieve a fairer society and a more effective and efficient justice system.