My thoughts and prayers are with Ashley’s family who have lost such a lovely Father and Husband.  I was Ashley’s first Deputy Director in the GLD and he was such a briliant colleague.  He was a gifted lawyer and dealt with all the tests the Home Office gave him with aplomb, grace and skill.  He was a joy to work with and I relied on his help and support so much.  Although it’s been over 15 years since we worked together Ashley stands out for me as what a Home Office lawyer should be – one of the best.  But more than that, Ashley was a great human being.  He dealt with all those he came into contact with as an equal.  Someone as gifted as Ashley could have been forgiven a touch of arrogance, but there was none of that, just a quiet and calm authority paired with humility.  That humility, that grace, in a time when the world is obsessed with ego and bombast make his loss all the greater for all of us.  Ashley was a true gentleman in the best sense of the word.