Speech given at the dinner for Her Majesty's Judges, Mansion House, 6 July 2016.

Joseph Chamberlain is reputed to have said, once, that a fortnight was a long time in politics. We all know that Harold Wilson said that a week was a long time. Given recent events, it might be said following Andy Warhol, that 15 minutes is now a long time. Whatever may be the speed or nature of changes in matters political, the judiciary does not comment. The business of the judiciary is not politics. It is the business of upholding the rule of law.