The Judges: Power, Politics and the People - Episode 7 - Baroness Butler-Sloss

The University of Law Podcast

Baroness Butler-Sloss was appointed President of the High Court Family Division in 1999, the first woman to reach that level of the judiciary. She came into the public eye when, as a High Court judge, she was chosen to chair the Cleveland Child Abuse Inquiry. Her focus on the voice of child led to the central principle of the Children Act introduced in 1989. Among her key family rulings were that gay couples could adopt children.

In this episode, Baroness Butler-Sloss speaks candidly about mistakes, including a case where she ruled that a child should go back to live with her mother but was then badly treated and victimised, along with her views on current proposals to allow assisted suicide when people are certified as within six months of death.

The interview is conducted by Frances Gibb, journalist and former legal editor of The Times, for a landmark podcast series, The Judges: Power, Politics and the People, hosted by The University of Law. The series features the most senior former judges in England and Wales of the last three decades – those who have reached the apex of the justice system. It asks: who are the men and occasionally women who have reached the pivotal positions at the top of the judiciary? What do they feel about their time in office - their key decisions and dealing with ministers?