Response to reaction to Lord Sumption's interview with the Evening Standard
22 September 2015
Responding to commentary following Lord Sumption's interview with the Evening Standard, published yesterday (21 September), a spokesman for the Supreme Court said:
"Some of Lord Sumption's comments appear to have been misunderstood. The full quotes make clear that he believes that increasing diversity at all levels of the profession is important, and that the range of hidden barriers to improving diversity - particularly of the judiciary - present a very complex problem. Nowhere did he try and reduce this to a simple question of 'lifestyle choice'. The concern he expressed was against introducing any form of positive discrimination to the judicial appointments system without careful analysis of the full range of potential consequences."
Lord Sumption's position is set out in detail in a lecture he gave in November 2012.