Richard James Shannon, Member of Parliament; All-Party Parliamentary Group for Freedom of Religion or Belief

James Shannon is a Democratic Unionist Party politician in Northern Ireland. He has sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since 2010 as the Member of Parliament for Strangford. He had previously sat in the Northern Ireland Assembly from 1998 to 2010 as the Member of the Legislative Assembly of Northern Ireland for Strangford. Shannon is one of the most active contributors to Parliamentary debates, intervening in almost every adjournment debate in order to support fellow backbench MPs who wish to raise issues in poorly attended debates. He is the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group FORB, a cross-party group of parliamentarians who believe that international freedom of religion or belief is a crucial human right. Shannon seeks to raise its profile in government, in Parliament, in the media, and among the general public. He has a passion for human rights and believes it is everyone’s right to have the freedom to worship how, where, and what they may.