Samuel Silkin was born 6 March 1918, the second son of the 1st Baron Silkin. He was educated at Dulwich College and at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. In 1941 he married Elaine Stamp (she died in 1984) and they had two sons and two daughters. In 1985 he married Sheila Swanston. Silkin died 17 August 1988.

Silkin was called to the Bar, Middle Temple, in 1941. He became a QC in 1963. He was a member of the Royal Commission on the Penal System for England and Wales, 1965-66. He was first Labour MP for Camberwell, Dulwich, 1964-74, and then for Southwark, Dulwich, 1974-83. Silkin's appointments included Chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party’s Group on Common Market and European Affairs, 1966-70; Chairman of the Select Committee on Parliamentary Privilege, 1967; Leader of the UK Delegation to the Assembly of Council of Europe, 1968-70; Chairman of the Council of Europe Legal Committee, 1966-70; Opposition front-bench spokesman on Law Officer matters, 1970-74 and 1985; and Attorney General, 1974-79. Silkin was a founder member of the Society of Labour Lawyers and was Chairman, 1964-71. He was a Governor of the Royal Bethlem and Maudsley Hospitals, 1970-74; Chairman of the British Institute of Human Rights, 1972-74; and President of the Alcohol Education Centre, 1973–