She stood down from that task with effect from that date, and the inquest was conducted by Lord Justice Scott Baker.

[5] In 1979, she became the fourth woman to be appointed a High Court judge,[6] after Elizabeth Lane, Rose Heilbron, and Margaret Booth.

She was known officially as "Lord Justice Butler-Sloss" until Bingham MR issued a practice direction in 1994 to refer to her informally as "Lady Justice Butler-Sloss";[10] the official title in s2(3) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 was amended by the Courts Act 2003.

She was advanced to the rank of Dame Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (GBE) in the 2005 New Year Honours.

[11] On 12 January 2005, it was announced that she was retiring, being replaced as President of the Family Division by Sir Mark Potter, then a Lord Justice of Appeal.

On 24 April 2007, she announced she was stepping down in June 2007, saying she lacked the experience required to deal with an inquest with a jury.

[16] On 8 July 2014, it was announced that Baroness Butler-Sloss would chair the forthcoming large-scale inquiry into cases of child sex abuse in previous decades.

[17] She stood down on 14 July after mounting pressure from victims' groups and MPs over her suitability regarding the fact that her brother was the Attorney General at the time of some of the abuses in question[18][19] and her perceived unwillingness to include mention of former Anglican bishop Peter Ball.

She was Chairman of the Advisory Council of St Paul's Cathedral from 2000 to 2009[2] and currently serves as Chair for the Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life.