Master David Keene

We have been informed that Master David Keene (The Rt Hon Sir David Keene PC) sadly died on Tuesday 18 August 2026, aged 85.

Master Keene was called to the Bar by the Inn in 1964 and took silk in 1980. He was appointed a Recorder in 1989. He practised mainly in public law cases and at planning inquiries. In his career as a barrister, he obtained planning permission for a number of large developments, including London City Airport, and the second runway at Manchester Airport. In 1993, he became a Deputy High Court Judge, and in 1994 was appointed a Judge of the High Court of Justice (Queen’s Bench Division), also sitting in the Employment Appeal Tribunal from 1995 to 2000. In 2000, he was elevated to the Court of Appeal as a Lord Justice of Appeal, serving until his retirement in 2009. Alongside his judicial career, he served as Chairman of the Judicial Studies Board from 2003 to 2007, Deputy President of the Qatar International Court from 2011 to 2013, and Chairman of the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Tribunal from 2013 to 2019.

He was elected a Bencher of the Inn in 1987 and served as Treasurer in 2006. His year in office saw the retirement of Brigadier Peter Little CBE, the appointment of Patrick Maddams Hon FRIBA as Sub-Treasurer, and an active period of engagement for the Inn during the debates surrounding the draft Legal Services Bill. To mark his Treasurership, he generously presented a red oak and a magnolia to the Inner Temple Garden.

The Inn’s flag was flow at half-mast in his memory on Wednesday 2 September. Details of a memorial service will be circulated in due course as appropriate