Jonathan Jones (civil servant)

For other people with the same name, see Jonathan Jones.

Sir Jonathan Guy Jones KCB KC (born 21 May 1962) is a British lawyer, appointed in March 2014 and serving until his resignation on 8 September 2020 as HM Procurator General, Treasury Solicitor and Head of the Government Legal Service, and so the Permanent Secretary of the Government Legal Department (until April 2015, named the Treasury Solicitor's Department).^[1][2][3]

Sir Jonathan Jones KCB KC
HM Procurator General, Treasury Solicitor and Head of the Government Legal Service
In office 1 March 2014 – 9 November 2020
Attorney General	Dominic Grieve (2014) Jeremy Wright (2014-18) Geoffrey Cox (2018-20) Suella Braverman (2020)
Preceded by	Sir Paul Jenkins
Succeeded by	Susanna McGibbon
Personal details
Born	(1962-05-21) 21 May 1962 (age 60)
Alma mater	Durham University

Early life and education

Jones attended Llandovery College in Carmarthenshire before attending St Chad's College at Durham University where he read a BA in law, graduating in 1984 with a 2:2.^[1][4]

Career

He then was called to the Bar in 1985 and served as a legal advisor to the Motor Agents Association for three years before joining the government in the Office of Fair Trading in 1989. In 1993 Jones transferred to the Treasury Solicitor's Department, briefly into the division working with the Department for Transport, then as Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers from 1994 until 1998. In 1998 Jones became deputy legal advisor to HM Treasury.^[1]

In 2002, Jones was promoted to be a director, initially serving as the Legal Director of the Department for Education and Skills, and two years later promoted again to be the Director-General of the Attorney General's Office. In 2009 Jones became the Deputy Treasury Solicitor, and after three years moved to the Home Office as their Director-General for Legal Affairs from 2012 until 2014.^[1][2]

On 1 March 2014, Jones was appointed the Treasury Solicitor, replacing Sir Paul Jenkins on his retirement.^[5] In April 2015, the Treasury Solicitor's Department was renamed to be the Government Legal Department, and with it, parts of Jones's job title.^[3][6] As of 2015, Jones was paid a salary of between £160,000 and £164,999, making him one of the 328 most highly paid people in the British public sector at that time.^[7]

In January 2019, Queen Elizabeth II approved Jones's appointment as one of six new Honorary Queen's Counsel.^[8]

Jones was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2020 New Year Honours for public service.^[9]

Shortly before 8 September 2020 Jones resigned in protest against the government's plans to breach the special Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland, through the UK Internal Market Bill, in contravention of international law.^[10] A spokesman for the Attorney General's Office confirmed the resignation but refused to comment.^[11]

After observing a 3-month pause in accordance with advice from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, Jones took up a position as a senior consultant with the international law firm Linklaters from 15 March 2021.^[12]

Jones is also an Honorary Professor at Durham Law School.^[13][14]

References

1. A & C Black (2015). JONES, Jonathan Guy. Who's Who 2016 (online ed.). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
2. "Jonathan Jones". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
3. "New name for Whitehall legal as it strives to cut overlap". Law Society Gazette. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
4. "Durham University gazette, 1983/84". Durham University. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
5. "Jonathan Jones appointed Treasury solicitor". Law Society Gazette. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
6. "Treasury Solicitor's Department to get face lift | Solicitors Journal". www.solicitorsjournal.com. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
7. "Senior officials 'high earners' salaries as at 30 September 2015 – Government of the United Kingdom". Government of the United Kingdom. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
8. "Lord Chancellor welcomes promotion of new silks". 10 January 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
9. "No. 62866". The London Gazette (Supplement). 28 December 2019. p. N3.
10. O'Carroll, Lisa (8 September 2020). "Government admits new Brexit bill 'will break international law'". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
11. Elgot, Jessica; Syal, Rajeev (8 September 2020). "UK's top legal civil servant quits over Brexit deal changes". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
12. "Sir Jonathan Jones QC (Hon) joins Linklaters as a Senior Consultant | News | About Us | Linklaters". www.linklaters.com. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
13. "Sir Jonathan Jones Staff Profile". Durham University. Retrieved 21 July 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)^{[dead link]}
14. "The Human Rights and Public Law Centre presents: Sir Jonathan Jones KC - Where next for human rights reform and the Bill of Rights Bill?". Durham University. Retrieved 4 February 2023.

External links

• Official blog post by Jones on the importance of diversity in the Civil Service

Political offices
Preceded by ???	Legal Director, Department for Education and Skills 2002–2004	Succeeded by ???
Preceded by ???	Director-General Attorney General's Office 2004–2009	Succeeded by Peter Fish
Preceded by David Pearson	Deputy Treasury Solicitor Treasury Solicitor's Department 2009–2012
Preceded by David Seymour	Director General, Legal Home Office 2012–2014
Preceded by Sir Paul Jenkins	HM Procurator General, Treasury Solicitor and Head of the Government Legal Service 2014–2020	Incumbent
	Permanent Secretary, Treasury Solicitor's Department 2014–2015	Succeeded by himself
Preceded by himself	Chief Executive, Government Legal Department 2015–2020	Incumbent