Lord Hermer, the Attorney General who personally authorised the prosecution of Lucy Connolly for a tweet, has broken his silence on the claims that we have a two-tier justice system, and he’s angry. Hemer is also very wrong, as an investigation into Palestine Action demonstrates.
Hermer, like much of the British regime, prefers convenient pretence over honesty
The Attorney General was interviewed for Starmer’s Stormy Year, a new Radio 4 programme assessing how the government’s first year has gone. When the discussion turned to last August’s riots, Hermer became audibly angry, describing the two-tier claim as ‘frankly disgusting’. He seemed rather confused about where the impression of double standards has come from, insisting that:
‘What some people were seeking to do, bringing up “two-tier”, was to make a comparison with the way that people were being treated for trying to kill police officers – and I want to reiterate that, “kill police officers” – with the response to protests on the streets of London… That’s where the two-tier comes from.’
Perhaps there are people who believe those who rioted or threatened the lives of police officers should have been spared jail. I’ve never met them. I have met and spoken with many who have deep, serious concerns about how unjust our justice system is becoming.
When I have written about this matter I have focused on inconsistencies in charging decisions, particularly for speech crimes, evidently excessive sentencing, or attempts to codify advantage for those who aren’t white, male and Christian. One of the most egregious examples is Hamit Coskun’s prosecution and conviction for burning a Quran – a man who burned a Bible in similar circumstances is unlikely to have even been arrested.
This is what two-tier justice looks like. A system where the law is nowhere close to equal and fair, and in which the state uses its power capriciously to target those who the ruling class do not approve of, while decriminalising the acts of those who have its support. I can’t believe that Hermer is unaware of this.
Unfortunately for the Attorney General, today the Times has published a tremendous piece of investigative journalism in which they infiltrated Palestine Action, and attended one of their online meetings. The organiser assured members of the soon-to-be proscribed organisation that the establishment is on their side, saying that ‘we’re seeing people not get charged with the things that they should get charged with’, that serious charges were often diluted or dropped altogether, that Palestine activists tended to ‘get off lightly’ at sentencing, and provided a list of recent cases in which the activists had been spared serious punishment. If that isn’t two-tier justice, what is?
Hermer insisted that ‘we have one justice system, that is an independent justice system…and I think we all need to get behind it not seek to undermine it.’ He must know this isn’t true. Speaking about people who ‘undermine’ the justice system can only be an effort to shut down an uncomfortable truth. The Attorney General clearly believes that those of us who’ve noticed the double-standards in our system are wrong to mention it. He, like much of the British regime, prefers convenient pretence over honesty, and bristles at challenge or accountability from politicians or the public.
This behaviour is not new. It’s why the rape gangs were kept quiet. It’s why the Sentencing Council was so furious at being challenged by the Lord Chancellor. It’s also evident in this week’s claim that the small boats crisis is being directed by Russia, as opposed to a very obvious consequence of providing migrants free accommodation in London’s zone one, along with easy access to paid work for companies like Deliveroo.
Everywhere the rot spreads, and everywhere the state would prefer lies to hard truths.
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