Irvine aspires to be 'people's' Lord Chancellor

THE LORD Chancellor, Lord Irvine has revealed an apparent desire to emulate the popular touch of Princess Diana by being remembered as a "people's Lord Chancellor".

In a interview with The Lawyer this week, the man who is spearheading a populist shake up of the legal system says: "I hope at the end of my Lord Chancellorship, people will be able to look back and say that I am a people's Lord ChancellorS"

His comments come almost exactly a year after his close friend and former pupil, Prime Minister Tony Blair, called Diana, Princess of Wales the "people's Princess" in the aftermath of her death.

In a wide-ranging interview, Lord Irvine says he has no regrets about his first year in office which was dogged by bad publicity over the refurbishment of his apartments and his comparison of himself with Cardinal Wolsey.

"I actually think I'm a very lucky Lord Chancellor," he said.



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