Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Garrick Club ‘votes to accept female members’

The club is situated in the heart of London’s West End (Jonathan Brady/PA)
The club is situated in the heart of London’s West End (Jonathan Brady/PA)

The Garrick Club has voted to allow women to become members for the first time, it has been reported.

The central London private members’ Club has been strictly male-only since it was founded in 1831.

But a vote to allow female members passed with 59.98% of votes in favour at the end of a private meeting, The Guardian reported.

The newspaper said actor Stephen Fry and journalist James Naughtie were among those who gave speeches arguing for the admission of women.

The private members’ club has faced scrutiny over its diversity in recent weeks after The Guardian said it had published the membership list, which it claimed included the King, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden and Sir Richard Moore, the head of MI6.

In March, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case – the head of the civil service – quit the club just a day after being questioned by MPs about his involvement in the institution.

Mr Case had previously suggested it would be “easier” to change the all-male organisation “from within rather than chuck rocks from the outside”.

In April, a High Court judge was removed from overseeing a case involving an alleged rape victim due to his membership of the Garrick Club.

Sir Jonathan Cohen was due to hear a family court case involving a dispute between a mother and father over their son’s care, with the woman accusing the man of domestic abuse and controlling and coercive behaviour.

She applied for Sir Jonathan to step back from her case, claiming she would feel “prejudiced” due to his membership.

A different High Court judge decided that Sir Jonathan should not hear the case due to his club membership, adding that the father was also a “regular visitor”.

The court heard that “at no stage” have the mother’s allegations against the father been determined.

The Guardian has reported that several High Court judges and dozens of barristers are members of the Garrick Club.

The Garrick Club has been approached for comment.