A Conservative activist from an early age - and the son of a former Tory MP -Dominic Grieve was elected to the Commons in 1997 as the MP for Beaconsfield in South Buckinghamshire.

He is a barrister and was the shadow attorney general for four and a half years until June 2008, when he was appointed shadow home secretary.

He filled the vacancy created when David Davis quit as an MP over the 42-day terror detention limit.

Mr Grieve is an ex-member of the London Diocesan Synod with an interest in constitutional issues and an opposition to devolution.

Regarded as a skilled and assiduous Commons performer, he has previously held the positions of shadow spokesman on Scottish affairs and home affairs.