Career
Hedley was called to the bar at Gray"s Inn in 1969 and made a bencher in 2002. He was appointed a Recorder in 1988 and a circuit judge for the Northern Circuit in 1992. On 11 January 2002, he was appointed a High Court judge, receiving the customary knighthood, and assigned to the Family Division.
The same year he became Chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool.
He retired on 10 January 2013. He became a Deputy Lieutenant of Merseyside in 2015.