Jack Straw risks losing what little respect he has among family judges and lawyers unless he ensures that Sir Nicholas Wall is named as president of the High Court family division before Easter.

The Lord Chancellor is thought

I am told that the Judicial Appointments Commission is in difficulties over the selection of a new president for the High Court Family Division. Sir Mark Potter, currently the senior family judge, is expected to retire at Easter.

Lawyers for a hospital trust are seeking permission to withdraw medical treatment that is keeping a one-year-old child alive. The boy, who was born with a rare neuromuscular condition, relies on a ventilator to breathe.

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