As secretary to the Council of Circuit Judges, Judge Cutler, 57, comes as near as possible to the spokesman or trade union rep for 600-plus judges who form the backbone of the judiciary, or what he calls the “meat in the judicial sandwich”. It’s a spare-time unpaid role, when he is not sitting as a circuit judge in Wiltshire, on criminal, civil and family cases. Judges are not always comfortable with the idea of a spokesman but Judge Cutler does a good job, discreetly channelling their concerns to the higher judiciary or to government. He also accepts that to dispel myths or counter misreporting in the press, judges need to speak out more and “not just sit back and allow others to misinterpret what we say”. He spoke out to defend his colleagues when they came under fire after Craig Sweeney, the child sex offender, was jailed for life but told he could seek parole in five years.

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