Professor Thom Brooks is an experienced public speaker who has delivered over 300 keynote lectures, talks and public addresses in fifteen countries across Europe, North America and Asia — from the Houses of Parliament and the Royal Danish Society of Science and Letters to TEDx, Durham Cathedral and the Ashmolean Museum. He speaks on citizenship and immigration, justice and punishment, political philosophy, trust in public life, and leadership — for academic, policy, professional and general audiences alike.
To invite Professor Brooks to speak, get in touch or book via A-Speakers.
What audiences say
“Wonderful… a model of clarity and erudition combined.”
— Professor Constantine Sandis, on his Ashmolean Museum public lecture, Oxford
“Entertaining, informative and thought-provoking in equal measure.”
— Edinburgh Sceptics
“A fantastic and engaging speaker whose passion shines through.”
— Show Racism the Red Card
“Excellent — clear, insightful and expertly delivered.”
— North East England Chamber of Commerce
“Inspirational for our students.”
— St David’s College
Selected engagements
- Public service: oral evidence to the House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee (2026) · Ministry of Justice academic seminar on sentencing and punishment (2024) · Extremism Threats Unit, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (2024) · Independent Commission on UK–EU Relations (2023) · Houses of Parliament
- Learned societies and public institutions: Royal Danish Society of Science and Letters, Copenhagen (2024) · Royal Society of Edinburgh · Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, Freiburg (2023 and 2025) · American Philosophical Association (2025) · Society of Legal Scholars · TEDx · the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford · Durham Cathedral
Recent talks & appearances
14 May 2026 Invited, LegalEdCon, annual Legal Cheek legal education conference, London, UK.
13 January 2026 Invited, House of Lords Justice and Home Affairs Committee, Settlement, Citizenship and Integration Inquiry, Houses of Parliament, UK.
2-5 December 2025 Panel speaker, “On getting professors engaged in college,” The 5th Collegiate Way International conference, Durham University, UK.
1 December 2025 Invited speaker, “How to work in politics,” College of St Hild and St Bede Senior Common Room, Durham, UK
15 October 2025 Panel chair, “Magna Carta in the North,” Durham Cathedral, UK.
11-13 September 2025 Invited speaker; “The Philosophy of Right and wrong: Hegel on crime, transgression and injustice” conference; Max-Planck-Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law; Freiburg, Germany.
17 June 2025 Invited speaker, The work of Bhikhu Parekh, St Antony’s College, Oxford, UK.
15 May 2025 Invited speaker, LegalEdCon 2025, London, UK.
31 March 2025 Invited speaker, Serbian Association for Legal Philosophy (Serbia IVR), Serbia.
21 February 2025 Invited commentator, American Philosophical Association–Central Division, USA.
3 February 2025 Invited speaker, Populism and civil disobedience panel, St Chad’s College, Durham, UK.
22 January 2025 Invited speaker, on how academics can influence policy makers, Leeds Trinity University Law School, UK.
17 January 2025 Invited speaker, Creating impact from legal research – panel discussion, Society of Legal Scholars, UK.
5 November 2024 British Legal Reform book launch, London, UK.
25 October 2024 Invited speaker, “Punitive Restoration and Restorative Justice,” Responsibility and the Law Workshop, Philosophy Department, Lund University, Sweden.
17 October 2024 Invited speaker, Extremism Threats Unit; Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, UK.
19 September 2024 Invited speaker, principled punishment and the use of penal purposes in sentencing guidelines, Ministry of Justice Areas of Research Interest (MOJ ARI) Academic Seminars, Evidence & Partnership Hub, MOJ Analysis Directorate, Ministry of Justice, UK.
3-5 September 2024 Speaker, “Dean’s Dilemma: Rethinking Theory and Practice in the Law School,” Society of Legal Scholars annual conference, University of Bristol, UK.
21 June 2024 Invited keynote speaker, punitive restoration, Aarhus Centre for Conflict Management, Aarhus University, Denmark.
20 June 2024 Invited speaker, Royal Danish Society of Science and Letters, Copenhagen, Denmark.
6-7 June 2024 Invited speaker, 10th Annual Equality and Citizenship Summer School, Croatia.
6 June 2024 Public lecture, “How Not to Save the Planet,” Opatija Coffeehouse Debates, Croatia.
15 March 2024 Invited speaker, Festschrift for Robert Stern, Department of Philosophy, University of Sheffield, UK.
27 February 2024 Invited panellist, “Change or Chaos? What Will the 2024 Global Elections Mean for the World?” Stephenson Ideas event, Stephenson College, Durham, UK
25 January 2024 Invited seminar speaker “Justice and the Problem of Alienation”; Centre for Ethics, Philosophy and Public Affairs; Departments of Philosophy; the University of St Andrews, UK.
25 January 2024 Lead discussant, Moral Philosophy Reading Group, Departments of Philosophy, the University of St Andrews, UK.
25 October 2023 Public lecture, “Becoming British: The UK’s Citizenship Test,” Festival of Social Science, Durham University, UK.
6 October 2023 Invited speaker, ‘Debate: This House Has No Confidence in His Majesty’s Government’, Durham Union Society, UK. Participants include Stephen Kinnock MP, Sir Robert Buckland KC MP and Huw Merriman MP.
29 September 2023 Invited speaker, “Applying the Unified Theory of Punishment,” Norwegian Association for Legal Philosophy, University of Oslo, Norway.
28 September 2023 Invited speaker, “The Unified Theory of Punishment,” Norwegian Association for Legal Philosophy, University of Oslo, Norway.
10-11 July 2023 Invited speaker, “Just War and Self-Defence,” Max-Planck-Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law, Freiburg, Germany.
30 May 2023 Invited speaker, “How to Get Involved with Labour Policy Making with Thom Brooks,” Young Fabian Academy, London, UK.
23 May 2023 Invited speaker, Asylum and Refugees after Brexit Roundtable, Independent Commission on UK-EU Relations, London, UK.
20 May 2023 Invited speaker, “New Arrivals: A Fair Immigration System for Labour,” County Durham Fabian Society, UK.
18 May 2023 Invited speaker, Is SQE good for legal education?, LegalEdCon, Legal Cheek annual conference, King’s Place, London.
27 April 2023 Invited speaker, Labour Party on Immigration, Hampstead and Kilburn Constituency Labour Party, London.
14 March 2023 Invited speaker, “Becoming British: UK Immigration Law and Policy”, Open HONOURS Guest Lecture, St David’s College, Cardiff, UK.
26 January 2023 Invited speaker, Discussion Panel with the Brown Commission, Society of Labour Lawyers, Inner Temple, UK.
21 January 2023 Chair, The Left’s Agenda for Defeating Populism, Fabian Society annual conference, London, UK.
8 January 2023 Invited speaker, Jewish Labour Movement annual conference, London, UK.
Full archive of talks, 1997 to 2023 HERE
Invite Professor Brooks
Professor Brooks welcomes invitations for keynote lectures, after-dinner speaking, panel discussions, and briefings for policy, professional and civic audiences in the UK and internationally. Enquiries: contact page · A-Speakers profile · Full CV (PDF)