It is with much regret that we report that Master McCreath (His Honour Judge Alistair McCreath) sadly died on Sunday 30 January, aged 73. The Inn’s flag will fly at half-mast on Wednesday 2 February, in his memory.

Member of the UK Sentencing Council, Judge Alistair McCreath. Photographed in the Royal Courts of Justice, London.

Master McCreath was Called to the Bar in 1972 and had a civil, family and criminal law practise from 1973, at what was then No 6 Fountain Court in Birmingham, before it became Cornwall Street, for 23 years. His judicial career began in 1986 when he was appointed Assistant Recorder, and he subsequently became a Recorder in 1990. He was appointed a Circuit Judge in 1996 and sat full time as a judge until his retirement in 2017. Between 1996 and 2006, he sat at Birmingham Crown Court, trying a wide variety of cases, including serious sexual offences, major fraud and, latterly, murder. In 2006, Master McCreath was invited to move to Worcester Combined Court Centre as the Resident Judge. He became the Honorary Recorder of Worcester in 2007. He was appointed a judicial member of the Sentencing Council and trained for the Judicial College, where he was responsible for the development of courses and as the judge in immediate charge of continuation training for the criminal judiciary. In 2011, he was promoted to Senior Circuit Judge and took up his post as Resident Judge at Southwark Crown Court in September 2011, where he presided over many high profile trials. He became Honorary Recorder of Westminster in 2012. In that year, he was also authorised to sit as a Circuit Judge in the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division). In 2018 he was appointed as a judicial member of the Parole Board.

Master McCreath was elected a Bencher of The Inner Temple in 2008. He sat on various committees throughout the years – including the Education & Training, Library and International Committees. He made a tremendous contribution to the Inn as an Advocacy Trainer, and frequently gave his time and considerable expertise to support the Inn’s training of students, pupils and new advocacy trainers. He regularly proposed students for Call to the Bar and attended events to enhance the Inn’s connections with universities and legal academics.

A funeral service for Master McCreath took place on Thursday 24 February 2022. A Memorial Service will take place at Temple Church at 6pm on Thursday 19 May 2022.