Guy Opperman

Guy Opperman MP
Opperman (left) in 2013
Member of Parliament for Hexham
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 May 2010
Preceded by	Peter Atkinson
Majority	12,031 (27.8%)
Personal details
Born	(1965-05-18) 18 May 1965 (age 51) Marlborough, Wiltshire, England
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Alma mater	University of Buckingham
Website	www.guyopperman.co.uk

Guy Thomas Opperman (born 18 May 1965) is a British Conservative Party politician, who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hexham.

Opperman was educated at Harrow School and has an honours degree in law from the University of Buckingham and a first class diploma from the University of Lille, France.

Opperman was called to the bar in 1989. He spent 20 years as a barrister — 15 years of which were spent predominantly at the criminal bar. Opperman prosecuted and defended in a number of murder and rape trials.

While a barrister, he did many years of pro bono work with the Western Circuit Free Representation Unit and the Bar Pro Bono Unit, providing free legal assistance in hundreds of cases on behalf of Victim Support and Citizens Advice Bureau. The Times named him "Lawyer of the Week" in 2007 and was awarded the Bar Pro Bono Award by the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith QC, for his voluntary work on behalf of victims in Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals. In 2009 the Attorney General, Baroness Scotland QC, presented him with a Pro Bono Hero award in the House of Commons for his work on preventing hospital closures. He is now a "door tenant" at 3PB and is no longer in active practice at the Bar having committed to being a full-time Member of Parliament.

Opperman was a director of his family engineering business until 2009.

Opperman is an amateur jockey and rode his first winner in 1985. He continues to ride and has won a number of point-to-point horse races, including at Downhills, Corbridge just after his selection as the Conservative Party Candidate for Hexham in 2009.