Early life Millett was born in
Hampstead, London, on 23 June 1932, to Isaac Moses "Denis" Millett and Adele Yetta Weinberg, both Jews of Polish descent. The Millett family (also spelt Millet) emigrated from
Dąbrowa Tarnowska and set up several businesses. His father was prominent in
Liberal Party politics in
Leicestershire, and with his cousin Michael founded Millets Stores in 1928 in Leicester. His mother was a junior tennis champion from
Ormskirk, Lancashire. Millett was educated at
Harrow School, London, and at
Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he received a
Master of Arts in
Classics and Law in 1954, graduating with a
double first. From 1955 to 1957 he served as a
Flying Officer in the
Royal Air Force. He was awarded an honorary fellowship by
Queen Mary, University of London in 2012. creating a principle that ended and prevented many tax avoidance schemes.
Judicial career In 1986, he became a judge of the
High Court of Justice and was knighted. He was appointed a
Lord Justice of Appeal and a member of the
Privy Council in 1994. On 1 October 1998, he was appointed a
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, receiving additionally a
life peerage with the title
Baron Millett, of
St Marylebone in the
City of Westminster. He retired as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary in January 2004. He was a Non-permanent Judge of the
Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal between 2000 and 2021. In 2015, Millett was awarded the
Gold Bauhinia Star by the
Chief Executive of Hong Kong. He retired from the membership of the
House of Lords on 4 May 2017.
Personal life Millett was married to Ann Mireille Harris from 1959. They had three sons, one of whom died in infancy. In this capacity he supervised more than 1,200
Masonic Lodges in London, and more than 600 associated Chapters of
Royal Arch Masons. Millett died from
hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis at his home in
Westminster, London, on 27 May 2021. == Judgments ==