Masters of the Bench

Sir Stephen is the First Parliamentary Counsel and runs the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) in the rank of Permanent Secretary.  Educated at St Dunstan's College, Catford and Bristol University, he worked as a lecturer in law at Bristol University from 1972 to 1973 and was Called to the Bar in 1973.  Stephen joined the general Government Legal Service in the Home Office in 1975 and became a Parliamentary draftsman in the OPC in 1976, becoming a “full” Parliamentary Counsel in 1971.  He is currently the Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet Office’s Operating Committee and is a member of the Inn’s Estates Committee.