One of Britain’s most senior judges has announced his retirement.

Supreme Court Justice Lord David Kitchin, 67, a cox in the University Boat Race nearly 50 years ago, will step down later this year.

A Supreme Court spokeswoman said Lord Kitchin intends to retire at the end of the legal year in September.

She said Lord Kitchin, who became a Supreme Court Justice in October 2018, had made an “enormous and valued contribution to the court’s work”.

A biography on the Supreme Court website says Lord Kitchin studied natural sciences and law at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.

He was cox in the winning Cambridge Boat Race team in 1975.

Lord Kitchin became a barrister in 1977 and a Queen’s Counsel in 1994.

He specialised in intellectual property litigation, including patents, trademarks, copyright, designs and trade secrets.

Lord Kitchin was a High Court judge and Court of Appeal judge before becoming a Supreme Court Justice.

In 2019, he was one of 11 Supreme Court Justices who considered legal challenges to then prime minister Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament.

In a statement as his retirement was announced, he said: “It has been an enormous privilege and pleasure to serve as a full-time justice of the court.

“This is the right time for me to step down and it will give me an opportunity to spend more time with my family and to pursue other interests.”