An Out of Court special
Now in his 80th year, Lord
Hailsham is the oldest man in the government and one of its most colourful characters.
As Lord High Chancellor he occupies the most ancient political office in the land, older than parliament itself.
Much of his job is ceremonial, but beneath the full-bottomed wig and the silk stockings there is controversy.
Should a senior Cabinet Politician appoint judges and sit as a Law Lord? Some critics complain he has blocked important legal reforms. One judge has even called him a 'brooding dictator'. After ten years on the Woolsack, Lord Hailsham talks to Ed Boyle about the problems of running our legal system. In characteristically robust style he argues that we have too many laws, which are often passed 'simply to reflect the machismo of ministers'. Film editor LIZ TENNENT producer ALAN BOOKBINDER