Martha Spurrier

Martha Spurrier (born 1986) is a British barrister and human rights campaigner. She is the director of the advocacy group Liberty, succeeding Shami Chakrabarti in 2016.[1]

Martha Spurrier
Spurrier in 2016
Born1986 (age 36–37)
NationalityBritish
EducationGodolphin and Latymer School
Alma materEmmanuel College, University of Cambridge
Occupation(s)Barrister, human rights campaigner, and director of Liberty
SpouseJesse Nicholls

Early life

Spurrier was educated at Godolphin and Latymer School in London, and then at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where she graduated with a BA (Hons) in history.[1][2] She took a law conversion course at City University London, and then the bar professional training course at BPP University.[2]

Career

Before joining Liberty from June 2016, Spurrier worked as a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, of which she remains an associate tenant.[2][3] She is the author of Freedom to Write: A User's Guide (English PEN, 2012).[3]

In 2015, she was one of the three joint founders of the "Act for the Act" campaign (with Caoilfhionn Gallagher and Fiona Bawdon), a crowdfunded advertising campaign to tell positive stories about the Human Rights Act 1998.[4][5]

She took up her post at Liberty at the end of May 2016.[6]

In July 2018, Spurrier was awarded the "Hero Award" at the 20th Annual ISPA[a 1] Awards by the ISPA Council for challenging the Investigatory Powers Act in the High Court.[7]

Personal life

She is married to fellow barrister Jesse Nicholls.[8]

References
  1. Bowcott, Owen (31 March 2016). "Liberty names barrister Martha Spurrier as new director". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  2. Isaac, Anna (8 June 2016). "Martha Spurrier, head of Liberty: 'Human rights will be the fight of our generation'". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  3. "Martha Spurrier (Associate)". Doughty Street Chambers. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  4. Bowcott, Owen (19 October 2015). "Ad campaign aims to rally support to save Human Rights Act". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  5. Carter, Oliver (15 September 2016). "'Dangerous territory' for human rights: Martha Spurrier in conversation with Helena Kennedy". The Justice Gap. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  6. "Liberty names barrister Martha Spurrier as new director". BBC News. 31 March 2016. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2016.
  7. "Martha Spurrier, Director of Liberty, crowned Internet Hero as Gigaclear picks up two awards at the 20th Annual ISPA Awards". ISPA UK. 13 July 2018. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  8. Croft, Anne (14 November 2016). "Liberty chief condemns 'irresponsible rhetoric' on Brexit". Financial Times.

Footnotes
  1. Internet Services Providers’ Association
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