Ministers are to raise the mandatory retirement age as concern grows over the refusenik trend at the bar and ebbing morale amongst judges. A recent survey found many were considering leaving their posts early.

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland QC said judges, magistrates and coroners in England and Wales would be allowed to serve for a further five years, The Times reports.

The Ministry of Justice said the move “seeks to address the fact that people now work later into their lives” and that the government was “determined not to lose valued judges, magistrates and coroners”.

A consultation undertaken by the MoJ last year found that the majority of 1,000 respondents supported raising the age limit “to reflect improvements in life expectancy and an increase in cases that need dealing with”.