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Jonathan Djanogly

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Jonathan Djanogly
Official portrait, 2017
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts and Legal Aid
In office
11 May 2010 – 4 September 2012
Prime MinisterDavid Cameron
Preceded byThe Lord Bach
Succeeded byHelen Grant
Shadow Solicitor General for England and Wales
In office
May 2004 – 6 May 2010
LeaderMichael Howard
David Cameron
Preceded byNick Hawkins
Succeeded byMaria Eagle
Member of Parliament
for Huntingdon
In office
7 June 2001 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byJohn Major
Succeeded byBen Obese-Jecty
Personal details
Born
Jonathan Simon Djanogly

(1965-06-03) 3 June 1965 (age 59)
Hammersmith, England
Political partyConservative
Spouse
Rebecca Silk
​
(m. 1991)​
Children2
Alma materOxford Polytechnic
ProfessionSolicitor
WebsiteOfficial website

Jonathan Simon Djanogly (born 3 June 1965) is an English politician and solicitor,[1] who was the Conservative Party Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon from 2001 to 2024. Djanogly has been Trade and Industry Spokesman shadowing the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Shadow Solicitor General for England and Wales and was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice from 2010 to 2012.

Djanogly currently serves as a member of the Public Accounts Committee.[2]

Following a vote by local party members, on 21 April 2023 Djanogly announced his decision not to seek re-election as a MP at the 2024 general election.[3][4]

Early life

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Djanogly was born in London to a British Jewish family,[5] the son of multimillionaire[6] textile manufacturer Sir Harry Djanogly and Lady Djanogly.

Education

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Djanogly was privately educated at University College School, an independent school for boys in Hampstead in North London, followed by Oxford Polytechnic in Oxford, where he was elected chairman of the Conservative Association in 1987, and he earned a Bachelor of Arts in law and politics in 1987. He took his law finals at the College of Law, Guildford, in 1988.

Professional career

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He joined SJ Berwin, London, in 1988 as a trainee solicitor, was admitted as a solicitor in 1990, and served as corporate finance partner between 1998 and 2009.

Political career

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Djanogly was elected as a councillor for Regents Park ward in the City of Westminster in 1994 and was re-elected in 1998. He unsuccessfully contested the seat of Oxford East at the 1997 general election. Before the 2001 general election he was selected as the Conservative Party candidate for the safe seat of Huntingdon, following the retirement of former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Sir John Major. Djanogly resigned from his council seat early in 2001, shortly before the general election campaign.

At the 2001 general election, Djanogly held the Huntingdon seat comfortably with a majority of 12,792 votes and has remained as the MP for the constituency ever since. He made his maiden speech in the House of Commons on 2 July 2001.[7]

He served on the Trade and Industry Select committee from 2001. He also campaigned for better protection against animal rights extremists, who had been targeting employees of Huntingdon Life Sciences in his constituency.[8][9]

In 2004, he was promoted to the frontbench by Michael Howard as an opposition spokesman on Home Affairs, and served as Solicitor General between May 2004 and May 2010, succeeding Nick Hawkins.[10][11] In 2005 Djanogly was also appointed a shadow Business Minister in the team shadowing the Department of Trade and Industry (United Kingdom) (now the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) where until the 2010 general election he worked on corporate governance and business regulations.

Since leaving Government in 2012, Djanogly has been elected Secretary of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Corporate Governance and Joint Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Corporate Responsibility.

Djanogly was opposed to Brexit before the 2016 referendum.[12] In December 2017 Djanogly voted along with ten other Conservative MPs against the government, and in favour of guaranteeing Parliament a "meaningful vote" on any deal Theresa May agreed with Brussels over Brexit.[13][14]

In government

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Following the formation of the coalition government Djanogly was named on 14 May 2010 as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, a post he held until September 2012. His role included the oversight of legal aid and legal services, HM Courts Service, as well as the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

As part of the Ministry of Justice's target to reduce its spending by £2 billion, Djanogly was tasked with reducing the legal aid budget by £350 million. In June 2011, he was one of the Ministers that introduced the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill (LASPO) to Parliament. Djanogly led the Bill process and it became law on 1 May 2012.[15]

On 29 March 2011, Djanogly launched a consultation: "Solving disputes in the County Courts", initiating a general review of civil law procedures, that included; increasing the small claims limit to £10,000, creating a single County Court and extending mediation assessment to all small claims.[16]

In an attempt to counter a perceived "compensation culture" in litigation in September 2011, Djanogly announced the Government's intention to ban referral fees in personal injury claims.[17] The ban was included in the LASPO Bill, together with provisions preventing the recovery of claimant solicitors' success fees from losing defendants, intended to reform 'no win, no fee' deals.

In October 2011, Djanogly announced non-lawyers would be allowed to invest in and own legal businesses for the first time.[18] In 2017 the impact of these changes was considered to be mixed: they had not delivered the intended reduction in the cost of legal services, but there had been improvements in management arrangements and fee structures.[19]

In February 2012, Djanogly proposed a major legal overhaul of the bailiff industry to clamp down on bad practices. The proposals included a new regulatory body to oversee the industry, a new complaints process for debtors and clear fees so that people know what bailiffs can charge.[20]

In July 2012, Djanogly announced the Government's intention to introduce a certificate declaring someone as 'presumed dead' to help families resolve the affairs of a missing person.[21]

Employment law

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As a shadow Business Minister Djanogly had proposed changes to employment law and continued this in Government. In January 2011 he launched a consultation: "Resolving Workplace Disputes", jointly with Ed Davey MP (who at the time was a Business Minister). The consultation led to measures which changed the practice and procedure of employment tribunals and how disputes could be resolved without recourse to tribunals. In July 2012 Djanogly also revealed plans to tailor employment tribunal fees to encourage businesses and workers to mediate or settle a dispute rather than go to a full hearing from summer 2013.

Djanogly said, "It's not fair on the taxpayer to foot the entire £84 million bill for people to escalate workplace disputes to a tribunal. We want people, where they can, to pay a fair contribution for the system they are using, which will encourage them to look for alternatives."[22] Bringing a claim or an appeal to the employment tribunal is currently free of charge with the full cost being met by the taxpayer. By introducing fees, people using employment tribunals will start to contribute a significant proportion of the £84 million cost of running the system. The aim is to reduce the taxpayer subsidy of these tribunals by transferring some of the cost to those who use the service, while protecting access to justice for all. HM Courts & Tribunals Service figures published in September 2014 subsequently showed that tribunals received 71% fewer claims in the quarter April to June than in the same period in 2013 – the smallest figure since records began in 2008/09.[23]

Court reform

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Djanogly was the Minister responsible for the courts service during the August riots of 2011 when a decision was taken to direct the riot cases to a limited number of magistrates courts sitting 24 hours a day for seven days a week.[24] Djanogly was also responsible for the merger of HM Courts Service with the Tribunals Service to create HMCTS on 1 April 2011. There were also major changes to the court estate, with 93 magistrates courts and 49 county courts being closed (out of a total of 530 courts), alongside proposals to reinvest £22 million of savings into the modernisation of the remaining court estate.[25]

Family law

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As Minister for Family Law, Djanogly's main thrust was preparing the Government's response to, and implementation of, the Family Justice Review conducted by David Norgrove, which reported in November 2011. In private family law, Djanogly championed mediation saying, "Mediation for example may well play a larger role in resolving family justice matters in the future. As well as avoiding the expense of court, it has already been shown that in some circumstances, agreements reached through mediation are better adhered to than court judgements." In public family law, the focus became a need to reduce the length of care cases which, on average, were taking 61 weeks. Djanogly said "In my view there is no time to waste in reforming a system which has in the past years under-delivered for the many families, children, practitioners and staff that it is meant to be there to support."[26]

Defamation

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In May 2012 Djanogly was one of the ministers who introduced the Defamation Bill and he led on its progress through the House of Commons until it reached Report stage. The bill satisfied the coalition agreement to reform the law of defamation.[27]

Controversy

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2009 expenses scandal

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In the 2009 expenses scandal it was suggested that Djanogly improperly claimed expenses for a "cleaner" who was actually a childminder. In response Djanogly stated that the person in question was employed as a cleaner although "there would clearly have been times during evenings when she would have been there with a child alone, but this was not her job or what she was paid to do" and acknowledged that the person received no other payment for any services provided.[28] In May 2009, The Daily Telegraph disclosed that Mr Djanogly claimed almost £5,000 on his parliamentary expenses for the installation of gates at his constituency home. The MP installed the gates following security fears, after he helped constituents threatened by animal rights activists, and he was not required to repay the sum following the Legg audit of MPs' expenses in 2010.[29]

Djanogly initially repaid £25,000 but denied that his arrangements had been improper.[30] The Legg audit subsequently found that £17,364.76 had been improperly claimed but did not require any further repayment as more than this amount had already been received.[31]

Private detectives

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In September 2010 it was revealed that Djanology had hired private detectives in 2009 to uncover the source of leaks to media about his parliamentary expenses.[32] Following a complaint to the UK Information Commissioner's Office by John Mann MP in connection with Djanogly's hiring of private detectives,[33] on 27 July 2011 the Information Commissioner said that he would not be investigating Djanogly for breaches of the Data Protection Act.[34][35]

Regulation of claims management firms

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In October 2011 Djanogly was stripped of his role of regulating Claims Management firms after it was revealed he failed to disclose conflicts of interest regarding his family members holding shares in said companies. The Ministry of Justice said "The Cabinet Secretary has concluded that Jonathan Djanogly took the appropriate steps to prevent any conflict between his financial interests and his Ministerial duties. There is no evidence that he acted in any way other than in the public interest."[36]

In a letter to Labour's justice spokesman, Andy Slaughter, who had raised the matter, Gus O'Donnell said that while there is "no suggestion of any impropriety in relation" to Djanogly's brother-in-law's firms that "for the avoidance of doubt decisions about the regulation of individual (claims management companies) should henceforth be handled by another minister".[37] Djanogly requested that the Claims Management Regulation Unit be overseen by a different Justice Minister,[38] to avoid any possible distraction from this important issue after it was suggested that he and his family[39] could personally profit.[40] Djanogly stated that neither he nor his Labour predecessor had ever had to make a decision in relation to the claims management unit, because decisions were delegated to officials, but it seemed prudent to head off any future allegation.[41] Claims management regulation policy however remained within his brief and on 22 August 2012, Djanogly launched a consultation to amend the conduct rules of claims managers and on 28 August 2012 announced that from 2013, the legal ombudsman would handle claims management complaints.[42]

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In May 2022, Djanogly's wife, Miss Rebecca Silk, lost an employment tribunal to a former employee, Miss H. Settas, which was later commented on in some parts of the press including the Telegraph in February 2023 following an interview given by Miss Settas to the Sunday Mirror.[43][44]

Personal life

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Djanogly has been married to Rebecca Jane Silk since 1991 and has two children, a son and a daughter.[45][46] He is the son-in-law of former Wimbledon champion Angela Buxton.[47]

References

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  1. ^ Djanogly, Jonathan (17 January 2005). "Constitutional Reform Bill". Jonathan Djanogly. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2011. I declare my interest as a practising solicitor.
  2. ^ "Public Accounts Committee - Membership - Committees - UK Parliament".
  3. ^ "Huntingdon Conservative MP Jonathan Djanogly loses selection panel vote". BBC News. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Jonathan Djanogly: Conservative MP to stand down at next election". BBC News. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
  5. ^ Elgot, Jessica. "New Jewish ministers and the Miliband rivalry". The Jewish Chronicle. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
  6. ^ "Millionaire philanthropist Sir Harry Djanogly to face trial over alleged assault on police officer". The Jewish Chronicle. 2 July 2001. Archived from the original on 8 December 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  7. ^ "House of Commons Hansard; vol 371, part 12, col 75". Hansard. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 2 July 2001. Archived from the original on 7 June 2008. Retrieved 29 October 2008.
  8. ^ "Engagements: 16 Jan 2002: House of Commons debates". TheyWorkForYou. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  9. ^ "Clause 116 – Harassment intended to deter lawful activities: 20 Jan 2005: Public Bill Committees". TheyWorkForYou. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
  10. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3691453.stm
  11. ^ https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200304/cmwib/wb040515/notifi.htm
  12. ^ Goodenough, Tom (16 February 2016). "Which Tory MPs back Brexit, who doesn't and who is still on the fence?". The Spectator. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  13. ^ "Theresa May: We're on course to deliver Brexit despite vote". BBC News. 14 December 2017. Archived from the original on 15 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  14. ^ Austin, Henry (13 December 2017). "Brexit vote: The 11 Tory rebel MPs who defeated the Government". The Independent. Archived from the original on 19 June 2018. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  15. ^ "Jonathan Djanogly MP". London, UK: Ministry of Justice. 14 May 2010. Archived from the original on 18 May 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2010. Jonathan Djanogly MP was appointed as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice on 14 May 2010. .
  16. ^ "Jonathan Djanogly MP". London, UK: Ministry of Justice. 1 April 2011. Archived from the original on 3 October 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  17. ^ "Injury claim referral fees to be banned". BBC. London. 9 September 2011. Archived from the original on 9 September 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  18. ^ "New dawn in legal sector". London, UK: Ministry of Justice. 6 October 2011. Archived from the original on 13 October 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  19. ^ Hyde, John (24 April 2017). "News focus: Five years on, did ABS really change anything?". Law Gazette. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  20. ^ "Bailiff industry changes proposed by Ministry of Justice". London, UK: BBC.co.uk. 17 February 2012. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
  21. ^ "'Presumed Dead' Certificate Planned". MSN News. 6 July 2012. Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  22. ^ "Djanogly: Employment tribunal fees set to encourage mediation and arbitration". London, UK: Ministry of Justice. 13 July 2012. Archived from the original on 10 August 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
  23. ^ "Djanogly: Employment tribunal". London, UK: The Law Society Gazette. 15 September 2014. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  24. ^ "Riots: Minister praises work to fast-track court cases". London, UK: Ministry of Justice. 12 August 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  25. ^ "Court Reform: Delivering Better Justice". 15 December 2010.
  26. ^ "The need for a cheaper family justice system based on mediation". Community Care. 10 August 2010. Archived from the original on 26 June 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  27. ^ "Defamation Bill Debate". 12 June 2012. Archived from the original on 3 January 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  28. ^ Watt, Holly; Swaine, Jon (8 July 2009). "MPs' expenses: the Tory MP, an au pair and his £13,000 on expenses". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. Archived from the original on 11 July 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2009.
  29. ^ Watt, Holly (22 May 2009). "MPs' expenses: Tory MP Jonathan Djanogly claimed almost £5,000 for automatic gates". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. Archived from the original on 25 December 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  30. ^ Watt, Holly (8 July 2009). "MPs' expenses". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. Archived from the original on 21 August 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
  31. ^ "Review of past ACA payments" (PDF). House of Commons. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 February 2010. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
  32. ^ Batty, David (10 September 2010). "MP hired detectives to check on staff over leaks about expenses". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media Limited. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  33. ^ Lipman, Jennifer (28 July 2011). "Justice Minister Djanogly accused of 'unethical' behaviour". The Jewish Chronicle. London, UK. Archived from the original on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2011. Jonathan Djanogly, MP for Huntingdon, admitted last year that he had paid detectives more than £5,000 to spy on local party members because he was concerned they were conspiring against him. He said later that he "over-reacted" but denied that he had done anything wrong.
  34. ^ Watt, Holly (27 July 2011). "Minister Jonathan Djanogly faces investigation over 'blagging' by detectives". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 30 July 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2011. 'We have today written to John Mann MP to confirm that his complaint will not be taken forward. The matters raised by Mr Mann do not appear to represent recorded personal information as covered by the Data Protection Act. A potential breach of section 55 – the Act's 'blagging' offence – does not therefore arise,' said the Information Commissioner Christopher Graham.
  35. ^ "Watchdog will not investigate minister over detectives". BBC News. 28 July 2011. Archived from the original on 10 November 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  36. ^ "Djanogly cleared in family shares row but loses claims firms role". Archived from the original on 24 August 2017. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  37. ^ Insley, Jill (28 June 2011). "Minister criticises referral fees on personal injury claims". The Guardian. London. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2011. In an interview on Radio 4's Today programme the minister said the referrals system gave people a "perverse incentive" to make unjustified claims. He said the government would be looking at several practices including referral fees, touting for business by text message, and garages selling lists of drivers involved in accidents, but added that these were the symptoms of a "rotten suing culture" rather than the cause.
  38. ^ "Djanogly gives up claims management role". Hunts Post 24, a weekly free newspaper distributed in Huntingdon. Archant Regional Ltd. 19 October 2011. Archived from the original on 20 October 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011. There is no evidence that he acted in any way other than in the public interest.
  39. ^ "Djanogly cleared in family shares row". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. 18 October 2011. Archived from the original on 23 October 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011. Earlier this month, it was disclosed that Mr Djanogly's two children each held shares in the claims management companies Going Legal and Legal Link Introductory Services, which solicit people who might have a compensation claim and then sell their details to lawyers. Mr Djanogly had admitted that his brother-in-law, Ben Silk, owned the companies, but had not disclosed his children's shareholdings.
  40. ^ McKee, Ruth (18 October 2011). "New conflict of interest controversy arises in government". politics.co.uk. London: SquareDigital, a trading name of Adfero Ltd. Archived from the original on 20 October 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2011. Justice minister Jonathan Djanogly has been stripped of his powers after it emerged he created a loophole in the law which could have benefited his family's complex business interests.
  41. ^ "Djanogly gives up claims management role". Hunts Post 24, a weekly free newspaper distributed in Huntingdon. Archant Regional Ltd. 19 October 2011. Archived from the original on 20 October 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2012. There is no evidence that he acted in any way other than in the public interest.
  42. ^ "Claims management regulation". London, UK: Ministry of Justice. 22 August 2012. Archived from the original on 17 September 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  43. ^ "Employment Tribunal Miss H Settas v Miss R Silk" (PDF).
  44. ^ Gutteridge, Nick (5 February 2023). "Tory MP's housekeeper treated 'worse than a slave' at his £7m home". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  45. ^ Swaine, Holly Watt and Jon (8 July 2009). "MPs' expenses: the Tory MP, an au pair and his £13,000 on expenses". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  46. ^ Syal, Rajeev (10 September 2010). "Jonathan Djanogly under pressure after admitting to spying on colleagues". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 14 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  47. ^ "Angela Buxton obituary". The Times. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Huntingdon
2001–2024 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Shadow Solicitor General for England and Wales
2004–2010 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Courts and Legal Aid
2010–2012 		Succeeded by
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