Solicitor-General Harriet Harman this week said it was 'downright offensive' for judges to imply that appointing more women and ethnic minorities to the judiciary would dilute quality - as the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) unveiled a consultation to investigate how to appoint judges from a more diverse background.

She told a Middlesex Law Society conference that the merit argument was a 'cloak for conservatism'.


Meanwhile, the DCA consultation will examine how to encourage people from a more diverse background to apply to become judges. It will look at solutions, including formal career breaks, work-shadowing for would-be applicants, changes to age limits, lay member involvement in selection and more flexible sitting arrangements.


The consultation will also consider whether judges in the lower courts should be allowed to return to private practice.


Yvonne Brown, chairwoman of the Black Solicitors Network, which participated in drafting the DCA's consultation, said any new system must be robust enough to ensure that only the best are appointed to the judiciary.


Aamir Khan, chairman of the Society of Asian Lawyers, said the consultation was a step in the right direction but in his personal view candidates should not be chosen because of their colour, gender or race.