A family court judge reprimanded for telling a newspaper he supported traditional marriage has been rebuked again after saying he believed the initial criticism was unfair.

Sir Paul Coleridge, who is due to retire as a judge in the family division of the High Court, has been issued with a reprimand for “misconduct.”

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Chris Grayling and Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas — the most senior judge in England and Wales — have concluded that he made a statement to the press which “sought to undermine the disciplinary process.”

Their decision was announced in a statement from the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office yesterday.

The announcement came a little over a week after Sir James Munby, president of the High Court family division and the most senior family judge in England and Wales, plus leading lawyers, paid tribute to Sir Paul at a retirement ceremony at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.