New lord chancellor Brandon Lewis CBE MP gave the first reading at a service in Westminster Abbey to mark the opening of the legal year.

The service was attended by representatives from all branches of the legal profession, including Law Society president I. Stephanie Boyce and vice-president Lubna Shuja.

Lewis and the lord chief justice, Lord Burnett of Maldon, led a procession of senior judges, including all the justices of the Supreme Court, at 11.30am.

The service began with The Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster, giving the Bidding.

He said: 'At the beginning of the legal year, we gather in the presence of almighty God, who is the judge of all and who knows the secrets of our hearts, to renew our commitment to the service of the Crown and to all manner of people that we may, together, do right.

Judges at OLY 2022

Judges outside Westminster Abbey at the opening of the legal year

Source: Monidipa Fouzder

'We acknowledge a shared high calling, a common commitment to a justice that all can recognise, done without fear or favour, affection or ill will. So we seek God's strength and guidance that we might remain true to our calling; informed, wise, and just.

'We pray for The Right Honourable Brandon Lewis, the Lord chancellor and secretary of state for justice, for The Right Honourable The Lord Burnett, lord chief justice of England and Wales; and for all who make and administer the law, both in the United Kingdom and in the other legal jurisdictions represented here today.'

Lewis gave the first reading, Ecclesiastes 3:1 -8, 14-15. The lord chief justice gave the second reading: Colossians 1: 15-20.

The Right Reverend Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester and Anglican Bishop to His Majesty's Prisons, said she would be 'careful not to venture into the controversial territory of length of sentencing' in her address.

The hour-long service ended with the National Anthem.

Those attending the service included justice minister Lord Bellamy KC, who led the independent criminal legal aid review and Lady Hale, former president of the Supreme Court.