Dr Victoria McCloud recently retired in 2024 as a judge (a King’s Bench Master) in the High Court, having presided over cases including defamation claims against Donald Trump, the ‘revenge porn’ case of Georgia Harrison v Stephen Bear, parts of the ‘plebgate’ litigation, British MP Nadim Zahawi’s suit against an Iranian publication, the falling out between Jeremy Corbyn MP and the Labour party, a claim by ex-Soviet double agent Boris Karpichkov against the UK State, and landmark cases on asbestos diseases and open justice. She also served for several years as the acting Admiralty Registrar and as a deputy costs judge. She now works primarily as a litigation strategist and brings a wealth of experience to a wide range of legal matters across the civil and commercial spectrum.

She was one of the largest whistleblowers in the UK after raising concerns over sex, race and age discrimination under the coalition government of 2010, taking the UK State to court in the well-known “McCloud” pension litigation which led to the collapse of the public sector pension cuts and an impact of some £19 billion in financial consequences.

She has given keynote addresses such as one in Amsterdam to the American Bar Association on cyber war crimes in the Ukraine war, and tech and AI in the law, in the US alongside an escaped Afghan judge on the plight of women such as her (as well as attempting to help Afghan judges in the UK to find work or re-training), and has appeared at significant legal tech events with US judges. Her other speaking work has included incorporation of cultural expertise in legal systems, diversity and inclusion, and ongoing reforms to whistleblowing laws. She is at the forefront of pushing for legal changes in the UK to Whistleblowing law to avoid a repeat of ‘Horizon’ or ‘Letby’ and is often to be seen in parliament in that context liaising with key political players including No. 10 and the Opposition.

She is a Chartered Psychologist, Advisory Head of Interdisciplinary Collaborations at the Sorbonne, Associate Fellow at the Global Network on Extremism & Technology, and former Visiting Professor at Tashkent University of Law. In 2015 she trained at the Hague Institute for Global Justice on Prosecution of Crimes Against Humanity & War Crimes. Her books and publications are numerous. Her most recent work is a chapter in Countering Terrorist and Criminal Financing: Theory and Practice, 2023, and a short book of poetry (‘Cable Landings’, as Victoria Rees) in 2021. Her doctorate is in 3-dimensional visual perception.