‘Owe it to my wife to step back at this stage of our lives’, says deputy president
Lord Hodge, the deputy president of the Supreme Court, has announced his intention to retire at the end of next year.
Lord Hodge, 71, has served as a justice since October 2013 and was elevated to the role of deputy president in January 2020. He became a QC (now KC) in 1996 and, prior to his appointment to the top bench, served as a judge in Scotland, Jersey and Guernsey.
In a statement announcing his retirement on 31 December 2025, Lord Hodge said:
“It is and has been a great honour to serve the United Kingdom in the Supreme Court. I will greatly miss the company of my friends and colleagues in the Court but owe it to my wife to step back at this stage of our lives.”
An independent selection commission will now begin the process of finding a replacement for Lord Hodge.
The UK’s highest court consists of 12 justices, only two of whom are women — Lady Rose and Lady Simler. The current President is Lord Reed.
