Renegade Time Lord

The term renegade Time Lord was an epithet of both diverse and vague definition. It was applied by Time Lords against their fellows. At various points, the Doctor was called and thought of himself as a renegade — but he also applied that label to others.

One one level, the term simply meant a Time Lord who had left Gallifrey behind, probably in a stolen — or at least misappropriated — TARDIS. In this sense, the Seventh Doctor clearly thought of both himself and the Master as "renegades". (PROSE: Doctor Who - The Novel of the Film) This sense of the term didn't connote any particular morality, since the Doctor and the Master had generally opposing value systems. It was enough to be a Time Lord not resident on Gallifrey.

On other occasions, the term indicated actual criminality. For instance, when the Doctor was once accused of being a "dangerous renegade", Flavia instantly snapped to the Doctor's defence and pointed out that he wasn't a criminal. (PROSE: The Eight Doctors) Likewise, the First Doctor used the term's moral connotation when he condemned Borusa as a renegade. (TV: The Five Doctors)

The Eighth Doctor felt that one definition of a renegade was a Time Lord who regularly picked up people on one world and transported them to another. (PROSE: Legacy of the Daleks) This implied that interference  was part and parcel of being a renegade. Indeed, the Eighth Doctor once gave his reason for being a renegade thus: "There are times when a little intervention is necessary." (PROSE: Interference - Book Two)

Since Gallifrey had laws against interfering in the natural course of events, at least some segment of the Time Lord policy thought of renegades as definitionally criminal.

Known Renegade Time Lords
category=Renegade Time Lords columns=4 allowcachedresults=true Señor del Tiempo renegado אדוני זמן בוגדים Time Lord Renegado