Lord Banner KC
Lord Banner KC is the Patron of Restart Foundation.
Lord Banner, a barrister at Keating Chambers in London, is an expert in planning and environmental regulation and has recently been appointed by the Prime Minister to lead a review into national infrastructure projects.
Lord Banner is a long-standing supporter of Ukraine, with extensive family connections in the country, and fully endorses the charity’s vision to bring “good mental health to all Ukraine.”
Lord Banner has travelled in Ukraine extensively and commented: “It’s a great tragedy to see this marvellous country with such huge potential suffering from Russia’s illegal war of aggression. I’m honoured to be part of this positive initiative for the wonderful people of Ukraine.”
Aside from his legal practice, Lord Banner is a recent former Chair of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. He was called to the Bar of England & Wales in 2004 and to the Bar of Northern Ireland in 2010. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2019 and practices across both jurisdictions as well as internationally. He joined the House of Lords in 2024.
Rob Rinder MBE
Rob is a barrister (specialising in criminal and international law). He is also a broadcaster and Sunday Times No.1 bestselling author.
His broadcast career began with Judge Rinder and includes the widely-acclaimed documentary series ‘My Family, The Holocaust, and Me’ and ‘Holy Land our untold stories.’ He talked movingly about his own family’s experience of conflict and mental health in his BAFTA-winning episode of Who Do You Think You Are.
In 2020 Rob was awarded an MBE for his services to the Holocaust education and an honorary doctorate for his legal work. In 2024 he received a Doctor of Literature from University College London for writing, teaching and advocacy in social equality and holocaust education.
Rob has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since its tragic invasion and reported live from the Ukraine-Polish border at the outbreak of the war in March 2022. He is particularly understanding of the impact that war can have on the mental health of innocent civilians and supports Restart Foundation’s mission to bring good mental health to Ukraine and help it become a thriving, happy country, undamaged by the legacy of conflict.
Rob is president of Orion Orchestra, a role which combines his passion for music with nurturing the next generation of the UK’s best young musicians.
Robert Brinkley CMG
Robert Brinkley was British Ambassador to Ukraine from 2002 to 2006, where he witnessed the Orange Revolution. He was a British diplomat for 34 years. After Ukraine he served as High Commissioner to Pakistan (2006 – 2009). He had previously served in Moscow (both in Russia and in the Soviet Union), as well as in Bonn, Geneva and London. He is a strong supporter of Ukraine, which he has visited often since leaving government service.
He is an honorary senator of the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), and was a senator (member of the governing body) from 2013 to 2019. He was chairman of UCU’s affiliate in London, the Ukrainian Institute London, from 2015 to 2022. He also chaired the Chatham House Ukraine Forum, the BEARR Trust (a British charity which supports small health and social welfare groups in Eastern Europe and Central Asia) and the Advisory Board of the University College London School of Slavonic and East European Studies (UCL SSEES). He was a trustee of the Keston Institute, which studies religion in Communist and former Communist countries. He is a patron of the BEARR Trust, ChildAid to Eastern Europe and the Andrei Sakharov Research Centre for Democratic Development.
Robert and his wife now live in Scotland, where he enjoys walking and making music.
