Description
TLC Zoom
Wednesday 6th May 2026 18:00 BST
Redefinition of War and Peace in the 2020s? Getting used to a new world order or history repeating itself?
Lord (Alex) Carlile of Berriew CBE KC
Some weeks ago I had the privilege of meeting Lord Carlile when he was the guest speaker at a lunch for retired Wirral Magistrates. I had the had the honour of serving for over 30 years and indeed being overall Bench Chairman between 2005/7.
Lord Carlile is well reverred as a brilliant speaker but is also renowned amongst other things for his legal knowledge and experience. Never being backward in coming forward I gave him some background to TLC and surprisingly it didn’t put him off and indeed he generously agreed to present to us on a subject clearly close to his heart. I asked him to elaborate on the topic and he responded as follows:
I will argue that the world has not changed as much as as many believe. The echoes of 1930s are with us. The definition of war has changed, but we are as close to it as we were in 1938. The attitude of the Americans looks different, but in reality it replicates Their approach at the beginning of the two world wars in the 20th century. The lessons of history should not be lost on us.
Frankly, this should be unmissable
Lord Carlile of Berriew C.B.E., K.C.
Alex Carlile was born in Wales in 1948. After education at Epsom College, he graduated LLB AKC at King’s College London. Lord Carlile was called to the Bar by Gray’s Inn (where he is now a bencher) in 1970 and became a Q.C. in 1984. He sat as a Recorder of the Crown Court, a Deputy High Court Judge, and Chairman of the Competition Appeal Tribunal. Between 2001-2011, he was the UK Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation. He was the Independent Reviewer of the Government’s new PREVENT policy and the Independent Reviewer of National Security Policy in Northern Ireland. From 1983-1997 he was the Liberal (then Liberal Democrat) MP for Montgomeryshire in Mid Wales. He was Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats from 1992-7. He is now a Crossbench peer. He was appointed a Life Peer in 1999 and was awarded the CBE in 2012 for services to national security. Lord Carlile is involved in several charities and related activities. He is President of the Royal Medical Foundation of Epsom College, and a member of the Commission on the Integration of Refugees. He was until 2022 the Chairman of the Lloyd’s of London Enforcement Board. He was till 2020 Chairman of the not-for-profit company Design for Homes and is a Non-Executive Co-Chair of SC Strategy Ltd, a strategy and public policy consultancy. Lord Carlile was appointed Chair of the House of Lords Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee in January 2025. Before this, he was a member of the House of Lords Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee and, as an MP, served on a wide range of parliamentary committees. Lord Carlile is a Trustee of The Security Institute, a Fellow of King’s College London, and a Fellow of the Industry and Parliament Trust. He holds Honorary Doctorates of Laws in universities in Manchester, Wales, Chester, and Hungary
