'Plainly inappropriate' | Judge who sent love letter to colleague steps down from President role

A High Court judge who was reprimanded for sending a love letter to a junior colleague, has stepped down from his role as president of a major legal body.

Mr Justice Marcus Smith’s term as president of the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) will end on November 4th, having served in the role since November 2021. the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary announced.

The CAT is a specialist judicial body with cross-disciplinary expertise in law, economics, business and accountancy whose function is to hear and decide cases involving competition or economic regulatory issues.

Sir Peter Roth will be acting president until a permanent appointment is made.