Nothing says more about the dwindling importance newspaper editors seem to place on legal journalism than the lord chief justice’s annual press conference.

The chance to fire away questions at the lord chief used to be set in a large hall but is now reduced to an office with a small boardroom table, where journalists gathered this week. The BBC, Press Association, Evening Standard, Independent and of course the Gazette were all represented, but plenty of nationals did not bother to send anyone. For the first time we can remember, press officers outnumbered reporters – a definite sign of the times.

Which was a shame, because there were plenty of decent morsels for any journalist with an eye for a story, despite Lord Burnett of Maldon making the usual caveat that he would not be drawn into political commentary.

He was happy to talk about the case backlog, the courts estate and problems with judicial recruitment, but seems to bristle a little when legal journalism royalty Joshua Rozenberg KC asked about the prospect of judges joining a union, and a letter reportedly winging its way to the LCJ’s office about working conditions.

Lord Chief Justice

Press officers outnumbered reporters at the lord chief justice’s annual press conference

This time the reply was cursory: ‘I do not know until I consider the detail of the letter but I am aware of its existence.’

Your Gazette correspondent spotted this might be a sore point and asked Burnett to clarify what was being done to protect judges’ welfare, which sparked a long defence of the judiciary’s efforts.

In fact, his soliloquy was paused only when Burnett broke off to say: ‘I am sorry you have got me going now, you will probably regret it’ (said with a smile rather than as a threat).

No regrets whatsoever, as it gave the LCJ a chance to talk passionately about a topic he obviously cares a great deal about. All the more reason, one might have thought, for journalists to turn up and hear him.  

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