Burnett to stand down

Who will replace him as chief justice of England and Wales?

Lord Burnett of Maldon will be retiring as from his post as the most senior judge in England and Wales at the end of the current legal year, he announced today.

This comes as no surprise. The post is generally seen as a five-year sentence with hard labour and, as Burnett points out, he will have served as lord chief justice for six years by next September, longer than any of his predecessors since Lord Lane in the 1980s. He will also have clocked up 15 years’ service as a judge by the time he draws his pension at the age of 65.

Lord Burnett of Maldon

What will Burnett do next? And who will succeed him?