Lord Justice Leveson, best known for his inquiry into the media's phone hacking scandal, has been appointed president of the Queen's Bench Division.

Sir Brian Leveson will take up the position on 1 October 2013 and replace Sir John Thomas, who succeeds Lord Justice Judge as Lord Chief Justice.

Leveson was called to the Bar by Middle Temple in 1970 and practised on the Northern Circuit from chambers in Liverpool, across common law, crime, personal injury and commercial work.

He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1986, and was appointed a Judge of the High Court, Queen's Bench Division, in 2000. In 2005 he was appointed to the new position of deputy senior presiding judge and in 2006, following his appointment as a Lord Justice of Appeal, he became senior presiding judge for England and Wales.

In July 2011, he was appointed by the Prime Minister as chairman of the public inquiry investigating the culture, practices and ethics of the press. In his report published in November last year Leveson put forward proposals for tougher media self-regulation and a new press law that could hand a statutory body such as OFCOM responsibility to monitor the press and its relationship with the public, the police and politicians.

Leveson's appointment was made following the recommendation of an independent selection panel chaired by Lord Judge, Lord Chief Justice. Members of the panel include Lord Neuberger, president of the Supreme Court, Sir Andrew Ridgeway, lay member of the JAC, Stella Pantelides, lay member of the JAC and Dame Valerie Strachan, lay member of the JAC.

Lord Judge is stepping down on 30 September after nearly five years in the role, having first been appointed in October 2008 when he replaced recently retired Supreme Court president Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers.