Attorney General appoints new Treasury Counsel
Attorney General announces new appointments to Treasury Counsel
The Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox QC, has appointed Duncan Penny QC, as First Senior Treasury Counsel (criminal) to the Crown at the Central Criminal Court with effect from 17 December 2018.
Mr Penny was appointed Junior Treasury Counsel in 2006, First Junior Treasury Counsel in 2011, and Senior Treasury counsel in 2014. He was made Queen’s Counsel in 2014. He takes over from Mark Heywood QC, who was appointed as First Senior in 2015.
The Attorney General has also appointed Sarah Whitehouse QC, as Deputy First Senior Treasury Counsel (criminal) to the Crown at the Central Criminal Court with effect from 17 December 2018. Ms Whitehouse was appointed Junior Treasury Counsel in 2006 and Senior Treasury Counsel in 2014. She was made Queen’s Counsel in 2014.
The title “Treasury Counsel” derives from the days when all Crown Counsel at the Central Criminal Court were instructed by the Treasury Solicitor. That procedure was changed in 1908, and since then the Director of Public Prosecutions has instructed the permanent counsel there.
Treasury Counsel are appointed by the Attorney General. They are divided into 2 groups: Senior Treasury Counsel and Junior Treasury Counsel.