The government this week ruled out allowing judges to return to private practice.


The Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Jack Straw, said he was not persuaded that removing the prohibition would help increase diversity in the judiciary.



Mr Straw said: 'The government consulted widely, considering the arguments both for and against allowing former salaried judges to return to practice. I do not believe there is sufficient evidence that this would achieve a more diverse judiciary and that, therefore, the arguments against this change outweigh those for. This proposal will therefore not be implemented.'



However, the Lord Chancellor insisted that the issue of increasing judicial diversity is 'of great importance'. The Ministry of Justice will continue to work with the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Phillips, and the Judicial Appointments Commission on implementing the judicial diversity strategy that was published in May 2006.