Simon Peregrine Gauvain Murray, Baron Murray of Blidworth (born 2 August 1974), is a British barrister and Conservative member of the House of Lords. He served as a minister for the Home Office (2022–2023).
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Early life and education
The only son of Dr Nigel Ormiston Gauvain Murray (1944–2002) and his wife Shirley née Arbuthnot (born 1949).
After graduating from the University of St Andrews with an undergraduate Master of Arts (MA Hons) in History, Murray took the Common Professional Examination at City, University of London. He was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple in 2000. Lord Murray practises public law at 39 Essex Chambers.
In 2011 he appeared on the BBC show, Fake or Fortune? for his family who claim ownership of the painting; even though the family did not remember owning the painting and presumably because they had realised its worth, Children Under a Palm by Winslow Homer, which had been found by a skip over 23 years earlier; although determined to be genuine, who owns this work of art is still a matter of dispute.
Political career
Elected to Gedling Borough Council at the 2019 local elections, Murray represented Newstead Abbey Ward as a Conservative Councillor until November 2022 after being appointed to HMG.