Senior British judges have enthusiastically backed progress on the modernisation of court processes, and sought to quell some of the misgivings about what the reforms mean in practice. Sir Terence Etherton, Master of the Rolls, told MPs he was an 'unapologetically enthusiastic' for the digitisation of systems across all jurisdictions, pointing to the 'amazing 70 000 small claims processed online since March last year', notes the Law Gazette. 'The public have voted with their feet,' he told the Justice Select Committee. 'If one wanted any justification at all for digitisation in access to justice, that provides it. There is just under a 90% satisfaction rate.' His evidence was symptomatic of a largely positive assessment of the £1bn modernisation programme from Etherton, Lord Chief Justice Burnett of Maldon, and Sir Ernest Ryder, senior president of tribunals. Each sought to dampen criticism of the project by addressing what they identified as mistaken assumptions about the extent of change. The main contention was that talk of an 'online court' was wrong, along with predictions that video hearings would become mandatory or were imminent. Etherton said: 'One of the suggestions seems to be there is going to be, in addition to video hearings, some sort of online resolution for disputes by a process of computer exchanges between the client, the user, and the judge. Nobody, so far as I know, is actually suggesting that.' Burnett assured committee members there were no plans whatsoever to force litigants in person to use digital processes if they chose not to.