With Sue Gray gone, one might have expected the Labour government’s infighting to have subsided. But there is a new public enemy now: Richard Hermer KC. The Attorney General has caused quite the commotion during his time in the top job, with questions raised over his links to Sir Keir Starmer’s controversial Chagos deal, his legal representation of ex-Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams and his stance on Israel. It’s his commitment to the ECHR, however, that has ruffled feathers in recent days as the government attempts to improve its messaging on migration.
Hermer sparked outrage among government figures when, on the same day that it was announced that new small boats legislation would prevent migrants with criminal records claiming modern slavery protections, he told the Council of Europe the government would ‘never withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights, or refuse to comply with judgments of the court’. Er, right. As one No. 10 source said to the Times: ‘These announcements were made on the same day. How can they possibly be reconciled?’ Talk about a paradox, eh?
While Hermer enjoys his time in the limelight as the pro-ECHR poster boy, it would be easy to forget who else has voiced their strong support for the Convention. Mr S would remind readers that in a speech to the attendees of the European Political Community meeting at Blenheim Palace last July, the Prime Minister himself stated:
The decisions people take to leave their homes cannot be separated from these wider issues. It is global inequality… We are resetting our approach here… We will approach this issue with humanity and with profound respect for international law.
That’s why my government scrapped the unworkable Rwanda scheme on day one – and it’s why we will never withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights… I myself first read about these principles of the Convention and international law in a law library in Leeds, well 40 years ago now and that inspired me in everything I have done since then. I still draw strength from it and value from it everyday.
How very curious. It seems the Attorney General is not the only lawyer in government that has put the ECHR on a pedestal. Will the anti-Hermer wing of No. 10 turn on Starmer next? Stay tuned…
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