Equality Bill

That is not quite right. It was the noble and learned Lord, Lord Mackay, who brought down the age of retirement for judges and then the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, wished it to be abolished or raised again because of a particular problem that had arisen. I made it clear that for special reasons, which I can explain, connected with the judiciary—and, I dare say, with the clergy and other command organisations of that kind—a fixed retirement age was a desirable feature. In the case of the judiciary, it was desirable to get diversity so that it did not become a gerontocracy of white men.