Max Hill QC appears to have got off to a promising start as director of public prosecutions, winning over criminal law practitioners with a surprise visit to Bromley Magistrates’ Court in south-east London on his second day in post.

In his first public speech as DPP last week, the former terror law watchdog said he was ‘truly impressed’ by the court being a paper-free zone and the work he saw. So impressed that he’s arranged to spend a morning prosecuting ‘so I can experience – not just see – it for myself’.

Wherever Hill decides to prosecute, Obiter hopes he turns up unannounced to ensure an authentic experience. Apparently, the lift at a Reading court hadn’t been working since February. Nine months later an engineer turned up… the day before the president of the family division was due to visit.

Topics