Speech by The Right Hon. The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.

Earlier this year Sir Jeremy Sullivan, the Senior President of Tribunals, and I were asked to make a video. Were we to become stars of stage and screen? Had Belle inspired the thought that a Chief Justice and Senior President could play a real role? My Lord Mayor I am afraid to say that such thoughts were all too far from the mark. We were, in fact, to make a training video for the Judicial College.

Might we nevertheless deliver our lines in the manner of Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud acting in Pinter's No Man's Land? They were, of course, two grand old men at the height of their powers, delivering career-defining performances, which enthralled audiences, kept the critics thoroughly engaged, and provided a master class for aspiring actors. What better image for the pair of us. Others, I am afraid to say, were not so sure.

In fact, and my Lord Mayor, I am sure you will be shocked to hear this, it was suggested that rather than Richardson and Gielgud we were likely to be more Waldorf and Statler, the two old hecklers from the stage left balcony at the Muppet Show: the pair who spent more of their time enjoying their own witticisms than the show itself. I suppose there are worse things we could have been compared to. (That's not an invitation.)

The video we were asked to make is an important aspect of how the judiciary has - and is continuing to - change. It is one aspect of the work which the Judicial College carries out to ensure that anyone who sits as a judge in the courts or tribunals has the necessary skills - the judge-craft - to carry out the proper administration of justice.