Downing Street has today announced the appointment of three male judges to the Supreme Court, leaving Lady Hale the only female judge sitting in the country’s highest court.

The new justices are Lord Justice Hughes, Lord Justice Toulson and Lord Hodge.

Lord Justice Hughes succeeds Lord Dyson, who became master of the rolls in October 2012. He will take up his role at the Supreme Court on 9 April, the first day of the Easter term. He has been a member of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales since 2006, and is vice-president of its criminal division.

Lord Justice Toulson succeeds Lord Walker, who retires on 17 March. He is to be sworn in as a justice of the Supreme Court on 9 April. He has been a member of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales since 2007, having served as chairman of the Law Commission of England and Wales between 2002 and 2006.

Lord Hodge will succeed Lord Hope, one of the two Scottish justices, who retires on 27 June. Lord Hodge will not take up his role until the beginning of the new legal year, in October. He was appointed a senator of the College of Justice in 2005, and sits in both the Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary.

Supreme Court president Lord Neuberger said: ‘We encouraged applications from a broad qualified pool, and took careful soundings from all those who were statutorily required to be consulted. The three names that emerged represent a talented trio of judges, all of whom have already made notable contributions to the development of the law in their judicial careers.’

Giving the Kuttan Menon memorial lecture last week, Lady Hale revealed that England and Wales, where just 23% of judges are women, lagged behind all of Europe - apart from Azerbaijan, Scotland and Armenia - in appointing females to the bench.