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Victoria Prentis

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The Right Honourable
Victoria Prentis
KC
Official portrait, 2020
Attorney General for England and Wales
Advocate General for Northern Ireland
In office
25 October 2022 – 5 July 2024
Prime MinisterRishi Sunak
Preceded byMichael Ellis
Succeeded byThe Lord Hermer
Minister of State for Work and Welfare
In office
7 September 2022 – 25 October 2022
Prime MinisterLiz Truss
Preceded byJulie Marson
Succeeded byGuy Opperman
Minister of State for Farming, Fisheries and Food[a]
In office
14 February 2020 – 7 September 2022
Prime MinisterBoris Johnson
Preceded byGeorge Eustice
Succeeded byMark Spencer
Member of Parliament
for Banbury
In office
7 May 2015 – 30 May 2024
Preceded byTony Baldry
Succeeded bySean Woodcock
Personal details
Born
Victoria Boswell

(1971-03-24) 24 March 1971 (age 53)
Banbury, Oxfordshire, England
Political partyConservative
SpouseSebastian Prentis
Parent
Alma materRoyal Holloway, University of London
Downing College, Cambridge
WebsiteOfficial website

Victoria Mary Prentis, KC (née Boswell; born 24 March 1971) is a British politician and barrister. A member of the Conservative Party, Prentis served as the Member of Parliament for Banbury from 2015 until her defeat in 2024.[1]

Prentis was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Farming, Fisheries and Food in February 2020, and was promoted to become Minister of State for Farming, Fisheries and Food in September 2021, during the second cabinet reshuffle of the second Johnson ministry. She was appointed Minister of State for Work and Welfare by Prime Minister Liz Truss in September 2022.[2][3][4] After Liz Truss resigned and Rishi Sunak became Prime Minister, Prentis was appointed Attorney General for England and Wales, a position in which she served until her defeat in the 2024 general election.[5] She was appointed to the Privy Council on 27 October 2022.[6]

Early life and career

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Prentis was born Victoria Boswell, in Banbury, and grew up on the family farm in nearby Aynho. She has two sisters. She was educated at Royal Holloway, University of London and Downing College, Cambridge, gaining degrees in English and Law respectively. She is the daughter of Lord Boswell of Aynho, who was MP for Daventry from 1987 to 2010.[7]

Prentis qualified as a barrister in 1995. She joined the Civil Service in 1997, leaving in November 2014. Her last job for the government was co-leading (in a jobshare) the "Justice and Security team" at the Treasury Solicitor's Department.[8]

Parliamentary career

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In November 2014, Prentis was selected as the Conservative candidate for the Banbury constituency at the 2015 general election. She retained the safe seat for the Conservatives (held by them since 1922). In Parliament she sat on the Justice Select Committee and the Select Committee on Statutory Instruments. Prentis is an opponent of High Speed 2, believing it will affect her constituency.[9] She rebelled against the Conservative government when the HS2 Bill received its second reading in the House of Commons in March 2016.[10]

Prentis was a founding supporter of Conservatives for Reform in Europe, a group which campaigned in support of the UK's membership of a reformed European Union. Accordingly, she declared that she would vote remain in the 2016 referendum on the UK's membership of the EU.[11][12]

Prentis supported Theresa May's candidacy during the 2016 Conservative leadership contest.[13] She was appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to junior ministers in the Department for Transport in July 2016.

She was re-elected as the MP for Banbury in the 2017 general election.[14]

In May 2019, she endorsed candidate Rory Stewart for the leadership of the Conservative Party.[15]

Prentis stated that she voted to remain in the European Union but has since given her support to Boris Johnson's deal.[16]

In February 2020, Prentis joined the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs as the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Farming, Fisheries and Food.

In January 2021, Prentis said during an interview that her jaw did not drop when she read the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement which includes farming, fisheries and food because she was "very busy organising the local nativity trail".[17] She voted in favour of the agreement in-line with government policy.

In March 2022, Prentis was the first British MP to take a Ukrainian refugee in her house amidst the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[18]

On 7 September, Prentis was appointed Minister of State for Work and Welfare at the Department for Work and Pensions by Prime Minister Liz Truss in the Truss Ministry.[3]

Victoria Prentis was defeated by Labour candidate Sean Woodcock at the 2024 general election, one of many Conservative Cabinet ministers to lose their seat. Banbury had been consistently represented by a Conservative MP from 1922 until 2024.

Attorney General

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See also: Sunak ministry

Following the appointment of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister on 25 October 2022,[19] Prentis was appointed by him as Attorney General for England and Wales and was officially sworn in as such on 16 November 2022.[20][21][22] She was appointed to the Privy Council on 27 October 2022 and sworn of it on 14 December 2022.[23] As is tradition for those appointed as Attorney General who are not already King's Counsel, Prentis was appointed as King's Counsel on 23 November 2022.[24]

Prentis made an official visit to Israel and the occupied territories in February 2024. [25]

Personal life

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Prentis is married to Sebastian Prentis, an Insolvency and Companies Court Judge, whom she met when they were both students at the University of Cambridge. The couple have two daughters and live in Somerton, Oxfordshire.[26][27]

Notes

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  1. ^ Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State from 2020 to September 2021.

References

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  1. ^ "Banbury parliamentary constituency 2015". BBC News Online. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  2. ^ "Ministerial Appointments: September 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Minister of State - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  4. ^ "Minister of State (Minister for Work and Welfare) - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Rishi Sunak reshuffle: Braverman named home secretary, Gove returns as levelling up secretary, Mordaunt not promoted – live". the Guardian. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  6. ^ "Orders Approved and Business Transacted at the Privy Council held by the King at Buckingham Palace on 27th October 2022". www.privycouncil.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved on 26 December 2022.
  7. ^ Wallace, Mark (8 November 2014). "Victoria Prentis selected in Banbury". ConservativeHome.com. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  8. ^ "Banbury Guardian: Top government lawyer chosen as Conservative candidate for Banbury". North Oxfordshire Conservatives. 8 November 2014. Archived from the original on 6 May 2015. Retrieved 6 May 2015.
  9. ^ "Victoria's views". victoriaprentis.com. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  10. ^ "Victoria Prentis to vote against HS2". victoriaprentis.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  11. ^ "Victoria's Views | Victoria Prentis". victoriaprentis.com. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  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 22 October 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  13. ^ "Victoria back Theresa May". victoriaprentis.com. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  14. ^ "Banbury parliamentary constituency 2017". BBC News Online. Archived from the original on 9 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  15. ^ "Victoria Prentis: Why I am voting for Stewart". Conservative Home. 2 June 2019.
  16. ^ Alex Chalk; Victoria Prentis (7 October 2019). "We voted Remain but believe in democracy: now let's leave". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  17. ^ "EU Environment Sub-Committee". ParliamentLive. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  18. ^ Hope, Christopher (25 March 2022). "First MP to take in Ukrainian refugee says she wants to give her 'the skills to rebuild Kyiv'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  19. ^ "Rishi Sunak appointed prime minister of the United Kingdom". www.cbsnews.com. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  20. ^ "The Rt Hon Victoria Prentis KC MP". GOV.UK. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  21. ^ Smith, Chris (17 November 2022). "New Attorney General sworn in". Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  22. ^ "Crown Office | The Gazette". www.thegazette.co.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  23. ^ "Orders Approved and Business Transacted at the Privy Council held by the King at Buckingham Palace on 14th December 2022". www.privycouncil.independent.gov.uk. Retrieved on 26 December 2022.
  24. ^ "Crown Office". www.thegazette.co.uk.
  25. ^ "Attorney General visits Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories". GOV.UK. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  26. ^ "About Victoria". Victoriaprentis.com. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  27. ^ "General election update: Prentis says Banbury MP role is an 'extraordinary privilege'". Banbury Guardian. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 15 May 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Victoria Prentis.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament
for Banbury
2015–2024 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded byas Minister of State for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Farming, Fisheries and Food
2020–2022 		Succeeded byas Minister of State for Food
Preceded by Attorney General for England and Wales
2022–2024 		Succeeded by
Advocate General for Northern Ireland
2022–2024
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