Mark Hedley

Sir Mark Hedley, DL is a British retired judge. He was a Justice of the High Court from 2002 to 2013.

Early life and education

Hedley was born on 23 August 1946 in London, England. He was educated at Framlingham College, then an all-boys private school. He studied law at the University of Liverpool, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws degree.

Legal career

Hedley was called to the bar at Gray's Inn in 1969 and made a bencher in 2002. He was appointed a Recorder in 1988 and a circuit judge for the Northern Circuit in 1992. On 11 January 2002, he was appointed a High Court judge, receiving the customary knighthood, and assigned to the Family Division. He retired on 10 January 2013.

Ecclesiastical career

Since 1975, Hedley has been a Reader of the Church of England. In 2002, he was appointed Chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool. In August 2024 a BBC investigation revealed that Hedley had made Decisions in his role as Deputy President of Tribunals which meant that complaints against a priest were not able to be examined fully under the Clergy Discipline Measure. Hedley wrote in his Decision: "I think it could be proved that the respondent had some non-consensual homosexual relations with the complainant." However, he declined to send the case to a tribunal because he did not think it was possible to prove that the alleged victim was under the age of 18.

Honours

On 27 April 2015, Hedley was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Merseyside.
He was awarded the Canterbury Cross for Services to the Church of England in 2022.