Attorney General Richard Hermer has said that political attacks on judges are “dangerous” and pose “a huge threat to the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary”. His comments came as a direct rebuke to Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick, who called for a senior judge to be sacked over new sentencing guidelines.
Speaking to Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights, Hermer warned that “we are entering a dangerous moment in which not simply on social media but indeed on the floor of the House of Commons, people are attacking judges on a personal basis”. He said this was “entirely unacceptable” and undermined the rule of law.
Jenrick had criticised Lord Justice Davis, head of the Sentencing Council for England and Wales, amid a row over guidelines that would require pre-sentence reports for certain groups. In response, Hermer said politics was at a “juncture in history” where the rule of law faced multiple challenges.
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood also criticised the guidelines, vowing there would “never be a two-tier sentencing approach under my watch”. Meanwhile, Hermer faced internal criticism for slowing down government policy, but he defended changes to legal advice as giving ministers an “unvarnished assessment” of legal risks.
Conservative MPs John Hayes and Desmond Swayne also called for the Sentencing Council to resign and for Lady Chief Justice Sue Carr to be rebuked. Hermer emphasised that judicial independence must be protected from political interference.
