Benchmark - Oliver Popplewell

Sir Oliver Popplewell's career goes a long way to explode the myths and to show what judges are really like - impartial, skilled in the law, above party politics certainly, but intensely human. There are conventional elements in Oliver Popplewell's upbringing. He was born into a comfortable middle-class family, attended elite schools, including Charterhouse, where he played cricket with the legendary Peter May, read law at Queen's College, Cambridge, before being called to the Bar at Middle Temple. A successful career at the junior Bar culminated in his becoming QC and eventual appointment to the High Court Bench. Various high profile cases followed, including the Jonathan Aitken libel trial and a number of public assignments of immense and distressing importance, like the enquiry into the tragic fire at Bradford City Football ground. This autobiography aims to be an engaging portrait of the career of one of England's most distinguished lawyers.