You've got bail: judge lets lawyer off over beeping phone

Generous words of Mr Justice Holman - 'don't be embarrassed' - may be indicative of softening attitude to tech among judiciary

The sudden trilling of a mobile phone amid the solemn atmosphere of a court hearing often leads to stern glances from the bench and cringing embarrassment from the offender. But Mr Justice Holman, one of the longest-serving high court judges in England and Wales, responded to an electronic interruption from one lawyer's device in the family court on Thursday with compassionate forbearance.

"Please answer it. Don't be embarrassed, just answer," said the 69-year-old, who has been a judge since 1995. "I never mind when mobiles go off " We live in the modern world, and we like to keep our mobiles on. It may be somebody important."