The Founder

Written by Martyn McLeish

Denis Nowell Pritt by Howard Coster, 1939

© National Portrait Gallery, London (75670)

As chambers marks its 70th anniversary, our current head of chambers, Martyn McLeish, gave a lecture on our founding Head of Chambers, D. N. Pritt Q.C. (1887-1972).

A copy of Martyn’s lecture is now available here.

Pritt combined legal practice with a political career. He was a Labour MP from 1935 to1940 and sat as an independent from 1940 to 1950. After he lost his seat in parliament his practice at the Bar was dominated by his representation of anti-colonial movements throughout the world, most notably defending Jomo Kenyatta during the struggle for independence in Kenya. He developed a practice in the Privy Council where his clients included Ho Chi Minh. Pritt was also a founder member of the National Council of Civil Liberties, and perhaps his most famous case was representing the Appellant in Liversidge v Anderson [1942] AC 206.