Two former Law Society presidents and two ex-bar chairs have co-signed a letter condemning ‘venomous’ attacks on the attorney general, which they allege undermine the rule of law.
Christina Blacklaws and I. Stephanie Boyce defended Richard Hermer KC in a letter to the Guardian newspaper, co-authored with two former chairs of the Bar Council, Stephen Hockman KC and Sam Townend KC.
They were responding to recent critical press commentary of Lord Hermer, a Matrix Chambers barrister, who has come under scrutiny over his role in the government’s controversial plans to hand the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius. A number of his former clients have also been profiled, with the suggestion being he advocated for controversial causes as a human rights barrister.
The letter’s authors write that the press commentary ‘overlooks the principle that those representing parties in contentious litigation have the right, and indeed the duty, to put forward the case for their clients without fear or favour, so that, as and when appropriate, the court or tribunal can itself independently decide whether such a case is or is not valid.
‘It is essential that a lawyer’s presentation of the case for a client is not perceived as an expression of the lawyer’s personal opinions.’
They added: ‘It is sad indeed to see the deeply personal and indeed venomous attacks which have recently been launched against the attorney general and other lawyers – whether they have been advising or representing government, or others, or advancing a case in opposition to government.
‘Those who state or imply that, in doing this, the lawyers are advancing their own personal opinions, are doing immense and untold damage, not only to our legal system but to society as a whole. They are undermining the rule of law and opening a path towards a society in which the public no longer trust the legal system or the individuals who participate in it. The fact that such developments are becoming more widespread around the world makes it all the more crucial that we should uphold the rule of law in our own country.’
