President of the Queen's Bench Division announced

Her Majesty The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of The Rt Hon Lord Justice Leveson as President of the Queen's Bench Division from 1 October 2013. This appointment follows the announcement of the appointment of The Rt Hon Sir John Thomas as the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.

Sir Brian Leveson was called to the Bar by Middle Temple in 1970. He practised on the Northern Circuit from chambers in Liverpool, across the full range of common law, crime, personal injury and commercial work. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1986, and was a Recorder and a Deputy High Court Judge. He was appointed a Judge of the High Court, Queen's Bench Division, in 2000, and served as a Presiding Judge of the Northern Circuit. In 2005 he was appointed to the new position of Deputy Senior Presiding Judge and in 2006, following his appointment as a Lord Justice of Appeal, he became Senior Presiding Judge for England and Wales.

In 2009, he was appointed Chairman of the Sentencing Council. In July 2011, he was appointed by the Prime Minister as chairman of the public inquiry investigating the culture, practices and ethics of the press and its relationship with the public, the police and politicians: his report was published in November 2012.

He is an honorary fellow of Merton College, Oxford, is the Chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University and has received an honorary LL.D. from the University of Liverpool.