He was appointed to the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong on 11 April 2011 as a non-permanent judge.

In 1957 the trial of suspected serial killer John Bodkin Adams first made him interested in pursuing a career in the law.

He was allocated to the Queen's Bench Division and, in April 1993, he succeeded Mr Justice Sheen as the Admiralty Judge.

Clarke was promoted to the Court of Appeal of England and Wales in 1998 and sworn of the privy council.

He lives in Kent and London with his wife, Rosemary, née Adam, whom he married in 1968, and has three children - Ben, Thomas and Sally.