OXFORD Mail readers are often left wondering where Judge Julian Hall’s mind is when he’s dishing out justice — and now the Insider has the answer!

The controversial judge, who is often criticised for handing out light sentences, and last week came under fire for telling a Chinese businesswoman to learn English, has made another unfortunate faux pas.

While hearing the case in which three men were sentenced to a total of 30 years for shooting at a drug dealer in Barton, the 71-year-old judge said the “defendants were brought to St Aldate’s police station here in Manchester”. A quick glance at Judge Hall’s Who’s Who entry reveals that Mr Hall did indeed spend 20 years as a barrister in Manchester.

Perhaps Mr Hall is eyeing a move up north again. I’m sure there’s dozens of criminals and headline writers in Oxfordshire who hope not!

WHAT is it about Frenchmen? They seem to be able to find the romance in anything. Here’s Great Milton celebrity chef Raymond Blanc’s take on life in hospital after breaking his leg: “My broken leg rests on silk cushions, and two gorgeous nurses — one blonde, one brunette — are holding my hands and singing lullabies.”

Do you think, perhaps, he went private? The Insider is a real admirer of the NHS, but I received nothing like that degree of care when I was whipped in for my ingrowing toenail.

TORY leader David Cameron came under renewed criticism that he was more style than substance when his pre-interview hair grooming was caught on camera.

The Witney MP was accused of being vain after checking his reflection in a video camera and brushing back his hair ahead of an interview with Sky News.

So far a YouTube video of the incident has been viewed 5,876 times.

The comments come just two months after Mr Cameron received flak over the alleged airbrushing of his image for a big Tory billboard campaign.

The Insider doesn’t like brushing off a good spat.

However when the election campaign really hots up, he hopes our glorious leaders will stop splitting hairs about each other’s appearance, body language and musical tastes, and get themselves focused on fixing Britain’s £178bn budget deficit instead.

The Insider was far more amused to see campaigners take their own airbrushed pictures of David Cameron around Witney recently.

The protestors, who are demanding a change from our current first past the post system to proportional representation, mocked up pictures of Mr Cameron a la Lord Kitchener, with natty moustache and hat.

Campaigners point out that Mr Cameron needs our votes to be our next Prime Minister, but he is not in favour of allowing a public referendum on the future of our democracy. Anything that can be used to make our Government’s more accountable and representative of the people gets the Insider’s vote.