Former solicitor Anne Molyneux takes senior Parole Board role after long judicial career
Her Honour Anne Molyneux, who began her legal career as a practising solicitor, has been appointed a judicial member of the Parole Board and has been designated its vice chair. Her appointment was approved by Justice Secretary David Lammy for a five-year term that begins this month. Soon after the appointment was confirmed, Parole Board chair Alexandra Marks selected Molyneux to serve as vice chair, where she will take on shared responsibility for leading and governing the organisation.
Molyneux was admitted as a solicitor in 1983 and later moved into judicial office. She became a recorder in 2000 and first served with the Parole Board as an independent member between 2003 and 2007. She returned as a judicial member from 2010 to 2019. Her judicial career continued to develop and she spent a decade as a circuit judge until 2017. She then became a senior circuit judge sitting in the Central Criminal Court. She retired from that post in June 2022.
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Cecilia French, chief executive of the Parole Board, welcomed Molyneux into the leadership team. French said Molyneux’s extensive judicial experience and her understanding of parole work, developed through years of service in several roles within the Board, would provide strong support as the organisation continues to refine its processes. French added that Molyneux’s leadership background and commitment to justice would be valuable as the Board works to protect the public and improve the system.
The Parole Board has faced intense scrutiny in recent years as public confidence, transparency and consistency in decision making have attracted closer attention from ministers and the wider criminal justice community. The appointment of a vice chair who has spent many years inside the criminal courts is expected to strengthen the Board’s judicial insight at a time when it continues to evolve its internal governance and respond to growing public interest in parole decisions.
Molyneux said she was honoured to accept the position. She noted that her long association with the Parole Board had given her a detailed understanding of its responsibilities and the work undertaken by its members and staff. She said she had witnessed the professionalism and care shown by those involved in assessing risk and making decisions that have significant consequences for public protection and the rehabilitation of offenders. She added that she looked forward to contributing to the Board’s development and supporting its operational duties in the years ahead.
Her appointment marks a return to a body in which she has held several roles over two decades. It also reinforces the continued presence of senior judicial expertise at the highest levels of the Parole Board, which remains a central part of the criminal justice system responsible for determining whether certain prisoners can be safely released.