Sharing the pain - Judges’ pay law must be changed

THERE is something quaintly charming, something from the times of duelling pistols and public hangings, child chimney sweeps and deportation to Van Diemen’s Land for snaring a rabbit, about the notion that members of the judiciary might make “voluntary contributions” in lieu of the public service pension levy.

It must be hoped that the difficulties faced by those outside the public service might be considered, however briefly, by their lordships as well.

It is, in these difficult times, very hard not to cry – or, more likely, laugh despairingly – when you consider that this privileged, cosseted group are left to decide what they might do to play their part in resolving our financial difficulties. No such latitude was extended to the tens of thousands who have lost their jobs, nor was it extended to individuals who saw their modest incomes evaporate as bank shares collapsed.