Lord Sales appointed UK Supreme Court deputy president
Britain’s Supreme Court named Lord Sales as deputy president, effective January 2026. King Charles approved the appointment after Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Lord Chancellor David Lammy recommended him following an independent selection panel’s review.
Sales earned his bar admission at Lincoln’s Inn in 1985 and became Queen’s Counsel in 2006 before joining the Supreme Court in 2019. He served on the Competition Appeal Tribunal from 2008 to 2015 and, as vice president, led the Investigatory Powers Tribunal from 2014 to 2015.
Sales will share oversight of judicial operations with President Lord Reed and maintain relationships with parliament, government officials and foreign courts. He replaces Lord Hodge, who retires at year’s end after completing his term as deputy president.
The appointee previously worked as an assistant recorder, recorder, and deputy high court judge before his elevation to Lord Justice of Appeal in 2014.
