David was first elected as Member of Parliament in May 2005. In July 2007, he was appointed Shadow Minister for Justice.
David was born in 1969. He is married to Janet and has six young children, Barnaby and Harriet (who are twins), Dougal, Dorothy, Noah and Toby. David has lived all his life in Enfield Southgate, first in Cockfosters, then Winchmore Hill and now Southgate. He was educated in Barnet, Highgate School and then at Exeter University.
Before entering parliament in 2005, David worked as a solicitor for the Enfield firm Shepherd Harris and Co, specialising in criminal law and was an advocate in police stations and Courts in Enfield, Haringey and Hertfordshire.
In 1994, David was elected as the youngest councillor in the London Borough of Enfield representing Trent Ward. During the next 8 years David held a number of positions in the Conservative Group - as Lead Member on Corporate Services and Education. In 2002, David was elected to represent Winchmore Hill Ward and became Cabinet Member for Voluntary and Community Development; Leisure Services was also added to David's portfolio. David was the Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Edmonton at the General Election in 2001.
Since becoming a Member of Parliament in 2005, David has been a member of the Public Administration Select Committee and has served on several Select Committees looking at a variety Bills such as the Armed Forces Bill, the Draft Legal Services Bill, the Legal Services Bill itself, the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Bill and the Draft Tissues and Embryos Bill.
He is particularly interested in the policy areas of drugs and alcohol, the criminal justice system, family policy, international human rights, voluntary sector, Cyprus and the Israel.
David has spent eighteen months as Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Social Justice Policy Group's Addictions Working Party. This group has been exploring the issues surrounding drug and alcohol addiction, taking evidence from those who work in the field of addiction treatment or who have been addicts themselves and published its report as part of the Social Justice Policy review for the Conservative Party in July 2007.
Parliament has many All Party Parliament Group representing a wide variety of interests and issues. David is the Chair of the Road Safety Group, Secretary of the Drugs Misuse Group 2006 and Vice-chair of the People with Complex Needs and Dual Diagnosis Group.
Outside of Parliament, David is the Chairman of the Conservative Christian Fellowship and a trustee and active participant in his local church. David is a sports enthusiast and particularly enjoys playing and watching football and cricket and is a strong supporter of Arsenal FC! Since becoming an MP he has also taken up cycling and you may well spot David cycling around Enfield Southgate. He also enjoys eating a good curry with his wife!
