John Ward OBE
Biography
John Ward OBE is a Legal Director in Home Office Legal Advisers in the Government Legal Department (GLD). Having previously led the policing, crime and national security teams, he now leads the five immigration teams.
John qualified as a solicitor in the City. After an internship at the European Commission in DG Competition, he joined the Office of Fair Trading in 1997.
Since then, John has held senior GLD posts advising a range of policy and operational departments including the Northern Ireland Office, Defra and DWP (where he led the team advising on Universal Credit).
He has also previously been appointed as Legal Counsel (Europe) in No.10 under Prime Minister May and as Legal Secretary to the Advocate General for Scotland, the UK Government’s Law Officer advising on Scots law, working closely with the Attorney and Solicitor General.