...and those who reversed his decision

Sir Terence Etherton

The second most senior judge in the country, as head of the Court of Appeal, he oversees some of England’s most controversial and complex legal cases. Sir Terence, who was appointed Master of the Rolls in October 2016, is outranked only by the Lord Chief Justice.

His position means he oversees a wide variety of cases, most recently ruling that supermarket Morrisons is partly liable for a large data breach which saw the sensitive data of thousands of staff posted online. The judgment upheld a High Court ruling in December 2017 and, if Morrisons’ appeal to the Supreme Court fails, would mean that those affected could claim compensation.

In August, Sir Terence, along with two other Court of Appeal judges, overturned a High Court ruling which struck off a junior paediatrician over the death of a six-year-old boy. Dr Hadiza Bawa-garba was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter in 2015 and barred from practising over the death of Jack Adcock, who died of sepsis in 2011, but was given the lesser sanction of a one-year suspension by the Court of Appeal.

Announcing the decision, Sir Terence said that despite making mistakes, Dr Bawa-garba could provide “considerable useful future service to society”.

Sir Terence, who became a QC in 1990 and previously worked as a chancery lawyer, formerly served as a High Court judge and was the chairman of the law commission of England and Wales between 2006 and 2009. He joined the Court of Appeal in 2008 and, as the first openly gay senior judge, said: “My appointment also shows that diversity in sexuality is not a bar to preferment up to the highest levels of the judiciary.”

He was a member of the British Olympic fencing team in the late seventies and competed in the World Championships. He was also selected for the Moscow Olympics in 1980, but pulled out over the Russian invasion of Afghanistan.

The position of Master of the Rolls dates back to at least the 13th century. The post comes with the chairmanship of several bodies, such as the Civil Justice Council, Magna Carta Trust and the Advisory Council on National Records and Archives.