Kennedy steps down as Booker Prize Foundation chair

Baroness Helena Kennedy is stepping down as chair of the Booker Prize Foundation after five years.

The announcement comes after her appointment last year as director of the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, which the foundation said would "occupy much of her time in the future".

Kennedy led the board during an eventful period, including the expiry of the Man Group sponsorship. That firm was succeeded at a sponsor by charitable foundation Crankstart.

She said: "I have loved my long involvement with the Booker Prize, which gave me the opportunity to indulge my passion for books, but no one should be on a board for too long. As the new director of the International Bar Association’s Institute of Human Rights I have a lot on my plate, but I will remain closely connected with the prize as it embraces new challenges."

Before taking up the position in 2015, succeeding Jonathan Taylor, she had been a member of the board for many years.

She will step down at the end of February, with her successor to be announced shortly.

Fellow trustee Ben Okri said: "For the past five years Helena Kennedy has served as the chair of the Booker Prize Foundation with distinction, with vision, and with her customary generosity of spirit. She has brought her formidable spirit and humanity to the task of leadership and leaves the foundation poised for the new chapter of its work.

"The Booker Prizes remain among the foremost literary prizes in the world, a global phenomenon, and their stability over the past five years owes much to the guidance of Helena Kennedy, whose strength and clarity will be missed."