The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Guy Richard Newey QC to be an additional High Court Judge with effect from 12 January 2010, assigned to the Chancery Division.

Mr. Newey, 50, was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1982 and took Silk in 2001. He was appointed an Acting Deemster in the Isle of Man in 2003 and is approved to sit as a deputy High Court Judge.

The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice made a written Ministerial Statement in the House of Commons on 25 November 2009 acceding to the request of the Lord Chief Justice for this additional High Court Judgeship.  Following an evaluation of the current workload pressure on the High Court Bench it was agreed that the 108th High Court Judge post could be filled.  (In 2008 an Order in Council allowed for an increase of one Lord Justice to enable the Chair of the Law Commission to be of that rank rather than a High Court Judge as had previously been the case.  At that time it was agreed that the 108th HIgh Court Judge post be left vacant.)

As workload across all three divisions of the High Court has since increased significantly (Chancery by 30 per cent) and there has been, in addition, an increase in the number of long cases, it was felt that now was the time to increase the size of the High Court Bench to help with this increased workload.