UK: First non-white judge appointed to the Old Bailey

Her Honour Judge Anuja Ravindra Dhir QC, 49, has become the first non-white judge to be appointed to the Old Bailey.

Judge Dhir, who is also the youngest judge at the court, was born in Dundee in 1968 to Indian immigrants and studied English and Scots law at Dundee University, graduating in 1988.

She subsequently won a Gray’s Inn scholarship, calling to the bar in 1989 where she practised for 23 years as both prosecutor and defence counsel.

Commenting on her appointment, Judge Dhir said: “It’s a huge privilege really. It is a special court, where all the serious criminal cases start. To be given that kind of responsibility makes me feel quite humbled.

“Dundee University launched me into a legal career. It is the only university that combined Scottish and English Law, so if I had gone to another university it would have been a lot different.

“I went to a state school in Scotland and from there to Dundee University, and when I went to London I was told by others in London that as a complete outsider I would find it difficult to get a place at the bar, never mind the bench.”

She added: “We are told by others there are glass ceilings but they are not really there. I think there are ups and downs. When I went to London, Gray’s Inn gave me a scholarship. They didn’t have to do that.

“There have been lots of people who supported me on the way when they didn’t need to.”