Orwell shrugged: Freedom, democracy and bullshit Sam Fowles, author, educator and barrister

Dr Sam Fowles, is an author, educator and Barrister specialising in constitutional and international law, and human rights. He serves as Director of the Institute for Constitutional Research and is a member of Cornerstone Barristers and a lecturer at St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford. Sam’s clients include members of parliament, NGOs, individuals and SMEs. His work often deals with major public policy issues. Most recently, he served as counsel to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Democracy and the Constitution’s inquiry into judicial independence, which concluded that populist attacks on judges are undermining our democratic constitution.

Sam’s recent book Overruled: Confronting Our Vanishing Democracy in 8 Cases was described as 'a fascinating insider account of the complex and opaque British legal system, and a timely warning about the steady erosion of British democracy at the hands of unaccountable elites'. When the Prime Minister illegally prorogued Parliament, Sam was part of the team that took him to court, and won. He also worked on high-profile cases against the Metropolitan Police and The Post Office. Sam is a sought after media commentator, with regular appearances on BBC Business, BBC World and Al Jazeera. He is a regular columnist for Open Democracy and Politics.co.uk.