Dr. David Kenny:

Yes. Many people will say about diversity issues that perception is as problematic as reality in the first instance. If that is the perception of the courts, that has a real impact on how people will view the judicial system. Given that people are appointed from the upper echelons of the legal profession - and we all know historically that this tiny group has been the preserve of a certain class of society - it is difficult to maintain that while we have appointed just from that tier of legal professionals, we somehow have a broad spread of social backgrounds. I find that implausible.

Judges are reluctant to say that that is the case and are also reluctant to engage at all with the question of class. The most recent research was undertaken by Dr. Carroll MacNeill.