Obiter has trotted out the hoary old jibe about lord chancellors wearing drip-dry robes for their investiture more than once. We’ve had 11 of them in 12 years, after all (lord chancellors, not sets of robes). But it seems we may be on to something.

Labour’s Shabana Mahmood, only the second woman to become lord chancellor in modern times, will be sworn in within the next few days. But what will she be wearing? The Judicial Office says a set of unisex robes is kept on standby which, they admit, may well have been worn by any number of Mahmood’s Conservative predecessors, including gender trailblazer Liz Truss.

Would Obiter wish to step in to one of the ill-fated future PM’s cast-offs? Or Michael Gove’s? No comment.

Apparently, the robes are retrieved from the mothballs each time and whisked away in advance to be adjusted, if necessary - though whether a tailor is despatched to Petty France to take measurements remains unclear.

At all events, it’s good to know taxpayers’ money isn’t being squandered every few months on new schmutter from Ede & Ravenscroft.

Topics