Does the lord chief justice object to TV cameras coming into his court? We don’t know. But how else might we explain why the Judicial Office refuses to divulge the contents of his letter on the subject to the Ministry of Justice?

The letter was sent in response to the MoJ’s decision earlier this year, but despite a Freedom of Information request, we’re not allowed to see it. The reasoning, according to the Judicial Office, is that the judiciary ‘is not regarded as a public body’. Apparently, releasing the letter would have ‘implications for policy work by colleagues in the Ministry of Justice’.

Call Obiter a cynic, but he suspects the ministry wouldn’t be so reluctant to release the letter if it contained a ringing endorsement of government policy.