Former attorney general Dominic Grieve and other former ministers have warned that politicians from the Conservative and Reform UK parties are fuelling “hysteria and anger” over immigration, putting criminal trials at risk of collapse. The warnings come amid protests outside asylum-seeker hotels and heightened debate over migration, including instances of misinformation.
At a Reform press conference, a council leader referred to a man awaiting trial as “the criminal” before any conviction. Nigel Farage defended the comment, saying it was “good” that the council leader became “slightly emotional”. Grieve expressed concern about the “fuelling of hysteria by politicians” and said some were breaking the law by commenting on future trials in serious cases such as rape and abduction.
Neil Basu, former assistant commissioner with the Metropolitan police, warned that comments from Farage and Tory shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick risked “unwittingly” inciting violence, accusing them of copying Donald Trump’s techniques. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey called on the attorney general to issue a formal warning to Farage, saying such comments “put prosecutions at risk and could let dangerous criminals walk free”.
Former justice secretaries Robert Buckland, David Gauke and Charlie Falconer, along with former justice select committee chair Sir Bob Neill, also appealed for a change in tone. However, several said more transparency from police over the ethnicity of suspects was necessary to calm tensions. The row was reignited after Reform council leader George Finch said police refused to confirm details of two suspects charged after an alleged rape.
Grieve cited the trial of two British Pakistani men over a police assault at Manchester airport as an example of how social media has undermined contempt of court laws. “It seems to be that it’s a complete free for all, and for politicians who ought to know better to participate in this is actually scandalous,” he said.
