Britain Is 'Deeply Elitist Society'

Many members of Britain's judiciary have had a private education, a report has found

Britain is still "deeply elitist" with privately-educated pupils and Oxbridge (Oxford and Cambridge) graduates continuing to dominate top roles in society, a major new report warns, according to Press Association.

Many of the nation's judges, politicians, armed forces chiefs, journalists, TV executives, public officials and sports stars attended fee-paying schools before going to to study at Oxford and Cambridge, it suggests.

This stark lack of diversity means that many of Britain's key institutions are not representative of the public they serve, and the people running them may not understand the daily issues facing people from different backgrounds, according to the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission.

The commission's chair, Alan Milburn, said the findings were a wake-up call, and suggested that institutions need to open their doors to a broader range of talent.

The study analysed the backgrounds of more than 4,000 individuals holding top jobs in British society.

It concludes that Britain's elite is still "formed on the playing fields of independent schools" and "finished in Oxbridge's dreaming spires".

More than seven in ten (71%) of senior judges, 62% of senior armed forces officers, over half of permanent secretaries (55%) - the most senior civil servants in government - 53% of senior diplomats, 45% of public body chairs, 44% of the Sunday Times Rich List, 43% of newspaper columnists, 35% of national rugby teams, a third (33%) of the England cricket team and 26% of BBC executives attended a fee-paying school, the study found.

Former private school pupils are also over-represented in politics, with half of the House of Lords attending an independent school along with over a third (36%) of the Cabinet, a third (33%) of MPs, and 22% of the shadow cabinet.

Nationally, around 7% of the UK population attended a private school, the study says.