Hello, I'm Krestey Young, and this is a podcast from the Desert Island Discs archive.

For rights reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

The program was originally broadcast in 1996, and the presenter was Sue Lolly. My castaway this week is a lawyer. He began his career slogging it out as a

jobbing barrister on the Western Circuit where he earned a reputation that took him to the top of his profession.

He won cases for Jeffrey Archer and Kerry Packer and lost one for Ken Livingston's GLC. In the 80s he moved to the city first

as chairman of the takeover panel and then rather surprisingly as chairman of

Nat West. He's still there but the law remains a great love, and those who know him best

say that if the Conservatives stay in power, he could become the next Lord Chancellor.

He is Lord Alexander. It's a large if, because of 16 years in power if for no other reason.

Do you allow yourself to think about occupying the Wall Sec?

No, I don't. I love my present job. I love banking. As a barrister you

never knew where your next case was coming from. I'm not seeking another case at the

moment and I certainly would have no idea at all where it would come from.

So you wouldn't expect to be Lord Chancellor but then as you indicate you didn't expect to be a banker

so it could happen?

I was very surprised I was gobsmacked when about six years ago

someone approached me to become a banker. Would you have been gobsmacked if you told

the young Bob Alexander at home in the potteries at his father's petrol station

that one day his name would even be mentioned in connection with such high offices.

Oh my goodness totally. I was from the Midlands. We had a good sound family, but it was a very ordinary

background. My father had a filling station which became a repair garage. In those

days, Cambridge seemed a remote place, London seemed a remote place London seemed a remote place in the bar

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