And so to Westminster Abbey for the annual service to mark the opening of the legal year in England and Wales. Obiter wonders if, behind the scenes, some turbulent priest was making mischief.

For shockingly, the readings by the lord chancellor and lady chief justice came from the trendy New International Bible, ‘a modern English translation’, rather than the sonorous King James Version. So Alex Chalk had to open Proverbs 8 with the bland ‘Does not wisdom call’ rather than the stentorian ‘Does not wisdom cry out’ (oh it does, it does).

Likewise Dame Sue had ‘Let your gentleness be known to everyone’ – though she may have preferred that to ‘Let your moderation be known unto all men.’ Some of the ‘hear our prayers’ however strayed into curious territory too.

Just what was the Right Reverend John Sherrington, auxiliary bishop of Westminster, getting at when he invited prayers for the Council of Europe, the parent body of the European Court of Human Rights?

Justice secretary Alex Chalk and lady chief justice Dame Sue Carr, opening of the legal year 2023

 Lady chief justice Dame Sue Carr and justice secretary Alex Chalk after the annual Judges Service 2023

Source: Tayfun Salci/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

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