Mark Lucraft

Mark Lucraft KC (born 28 December 1961) is a British barrister and judge.^[1]

His Honour Judge Mark Lucraft KC
Recorder of London
Incumbent
Assumed office 2020
Monarchs	Elizabeth II Charles III
Preceded by	Sir Nicholas Hilliard
Succeeded by	in office
Chief Coroner of England and Wales
In office 2016–2020
Preceded by	Sir Peter Thornton
Succeeded by	Thomas Teague
Personal details
Born	(1961-12-28) 28 December 1961 (age 63)
Residence	London
Alma mater	University of Kent
Profession	Barrister-at-law

Appointed Recorder of London in 2020, the most senior Circuit Judge at the Old Bailey, Lucraft was previously Chief Coroner of England and Wales from 2016 to 2020.

Education

The son of the Revd Cyril Lucraft, a United Reform Church minister, he was educated at Wood Green School, a state comprehensive school in the market town of Witney, Oxfordshire, before going up to the University of Kent, where he read Law. Lucraft graduated as BA in 1983.^[2]

Life and career

Luucraft was called to the Bar in 1984.^[2] Appointed Recorder in 2003,^[2] he took silk (QC) in 2006,^[2] becoming a full-time judge in 2012^[3] and was a Senior Circuit Judge at the Central Criminal Court ("Old Bailey") from 2015, where he was appointed as Resident Judge in April 2020.^[4] Prominent cases include a life sentence in 2024 for Fiona Beal, who murdered her partner Nicholas Billingham in 2021.^[5]

From 2016 to 2020, Lucraft was Chief Coroner of England and Wales, while continuing as an Old Bailey judge.^[6][2] As Chief Coroner, he presided over the inquests into the 2017 Westminster attack,^[7] the 2017 London Bridge and Borough Market attack,^[8] and the 2019 London Bridge stabbings.^[9]

In 2020, before relinquishing the role of Chief Coroner, he became Recorder of London, the senior judge at the Old Bailey.^[10][11] The roles were allowed to overlap due to the pressures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.^[10] By tradition, the Recorder of London is also appointed High Steward of Southwark,^[12] and Lucraft accordingly occupies this position.^[13] In October 2023, he ruled that the name and date of birth of the police officer who shot Chris Kaba could be made public on 30 January 2024.^[14]

Lucraft is the general editor of Archbold Criminal Pleading, Evidence and Practice, an annual publication for practitioners of criminal law in the Crown Courts.^[15] He is a Liveryman of the Founders' Company and an Honorary Freeman of the Curriers' Company.^[16]