Emily Thornberry - Before Parliament

Before Parliament

Thornberry was born in north Surrey to Cedric Thornberry, a Visiting Professor of War Studies at King's College London, and his wife Sally Thornberry, a teacher. Her parents divorced when Thornberry was aged seven and she and her two brothers lived with her mother who later became a Labour Councillor and Mayor. Her father went on to become United Nations Assistant Secretary General and work for NATO. She was educated at the University of Kent at Canterbury where she studied law. She went on to practice as a barrister specialising in human rights law from 1985 to 2005 under Michael Mansfield at Tooks Chambers. Thornberry joined the Transport and General Workers Union in 1985. In the late 1980s she became friends with Waheed (now Lord) Alli, and persuaded him to join the Labour Party.