FORTY years after graduating, North-East police and crime commissioner Vera Baird has returned to what is now Northumbria University to be awarded an honorary doctorate.
Four decades after she graduated with a law degree, Ms Baird, Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria Police, received an honorary doctorate of civil law from Northumbria University.
After leaving Northumbria’s predecessor Newcastle Polytechnic, where she was vice-president of the students’ union and editor of the student newspaper, Ms Baird forged an impressive career as a barrister.
She was involved in landmark civil liberty cases including the Orgreave riot trial, the first pregnancy discrimination case to reach the House of Lords and a series of appeals which helped change the law of murder for women who killed their violent partners.
In 2001 she began a second successful career when she entered the House of Commons as Labour MP for Redcar. She was appointed a Minister in the Labour Government in 2006 before being appointed Solicitor General from 2007 to 2010.
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