"DMU is a great advert for Leicester, and Leicester is a great advert for the UK,” according to Lord Willy Bach, who has been recognised with an honorary Doctor of Law from De Montfort University Leicester (DMU).
The former government minister and Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner was honoured for his outstanding contribution to policing, justice and public life in Leicestershire, as well as his longstanding support for DMU.
Speaking after receiving the award, Lord Bach said the graduation ceremony itself demonstrated the enduring importance of a university education.
He said: “You only have to be present today to see how valuable a degree is. To see the enthusiasm of all those receiving degrees today, and the pride of their friends and families, shows how much this means and how important it is for them as they move forward in life. It will give them a huge advantage.”
Lord Bach said graduates should also remember that millions of people in the UK and around the world could only dream of having such an opportunity.
A university education, he said, was valuable not only because of what students learned about their chosen subject, but because of what they learned about life and the people around them.
Having that opportunity also brought a responsibility to think about those who had not been so fortunate, he said, particularly at a time when racism and narrow attitudes remained a problem.
Leicester, he said, offered an example of what was possible when people from different backgrounds lived and worked together, with DMU reflecting that same spirit.
Lord Bach’s career has spanned more than five decades in law, politics and public service.
Created a life peer in 1998 as Baron Bach of Lutterworth, he went on to hold a series of government posts, including roles in the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Justice, and later served as Shadow Attorney General.
In 2015, he chaired the Bach Commission, which examined the impact of legal aid cuts on access to justice and helped shape the national debate on the issue.
Lord Bach has lived in Leicestershire for many years and from 2016 to 2021 served as Police and Crime Commissioner for Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
He has been a strong supporter of DMU’s Policing degree apprenticeship and its work in policing, social justice and community justice.
Simon Oldroyd, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at DMU, who nominated Lord Bach for the honorary degree, said: “Lord William Bach’s experience and leadership in policing and community justice have been of real benefit to our students, and his ongoing support for our Policing degree apprenticeship reflects a genuine commitment to the values we share.”
Lord Bach also used his graduation address to speak about his pride in Leicester and the example he believes the city can offer to the wider world.
He told the audience at the graduation ceremony: “I am so proud of Leicester because to the outside world it represents the achievement of having grown into a wonderfully diverse and exciting city, where people from near and far live and work together as neighbours and friends.
“This university is a brilliant example of this.
“Nothing involving humans ever works perfectly, but what an example to the world we are.”
He also warned that racism, whether open or hidden, remained “a major evil of our time” and said it should never be tolerated.
Turning to the opportunities that education can provide, Lord Bach told graduates: “Your degrees and qualifications in Law and Business give you the opportunity to do exactly this; an opportunity not given to many.
“I end by pleading with you, persuading you that there is no higher ambition worth working for, and none more important, than that of trying to improve the lives of others.”
Posted on Friday 11 September 2026