Dust off the fancy dress and say a prayer for, er, Chris Grayling
As you will of course know, 1 October is the first day of the legal year. Earlier today a ceremony (pictured) took place at Westminster Abbey to mark the occasion — which has been a fixture in the legal calendar since the Middle Ages when judges asked God for guidance at the start of the new legal term.
Included in the ceremony was a prayer for, amongst others, Chris Grayling, which obviously none of the judges in attendance said with their fingers crossed. Here is the relevant bit:
“We pray for the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, The Right Honourable Christopher Grayling, for The Right Honourable The Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, and for all who make and administer the law, both in the United Kingdom and in the European Union, and in the other legal jurisdictions represented here today.
“We ask God to sustain us in our duties, to grant us humility and sound judgement, to forgive our errors, and to inspire us in our service. Here on earth may we serve more faithfully that heavenly justice in which alone we can in the end trust.”
There are some nice photos of the occasion — which, as you’d expect, was full of legal pageantry — on the Westminster Abbey website This one of the Lord Chief Justice having a word with the Lord Chancellor is surely worthy of a caption competition.
The full legal pic of the day collection is here.