David Lammy has defended Angela Rayner's description of the Conservative government as "scum", telling the Tories to put their own affairs in order before criticising Labour for "fruity" language. The shadow justice secretary, speaking to the Guardian in Brighton ahead of Labour's annual conference, said he was not inclined to accept lectures from senior Conservatives, given the prime minister's past remarks about ethnic minorities and other groups.
Rayner caused controversy on Saturday evening when she described the government as "a bunch of scum, homophobic, racist, misogynistic, absolute vile … banana republic, vile, nasty, Etonian … piece of scum". Transport Secretary Grant Shapps called the comments "appalling", but Lammy noted that Boris Johnson had previously used derogatory terms about black people, gay men and Muslim women.
Lammy also said he relished the opportunity to go "toe-to-toe" with Dominic Raab, who was moved to become Justice Secretary in the recent reshuffle. He expressed hope that the government would not attempt to abolish the Human Rights Act, describing it as "a huge cornerstone of the world order that was set up after the second world war" and adding that there was no public clamour to get rid of it.
In his conference speech, Lammy is expected to announce that law firms will be required to do pro bono work to secure lucrative government contracts. He criticised the government for failing to support the judiciary and for the Home Secretary's disparaging remarks about "activist lawyers", saying the period had been "unsavoury and unbelievable".
On Labour's internal divisions, Lammy said the party had been "too good at navel-gazing" and needed to look outwards. He emphasised the importance of restoring the legal aid system, which had been significantly cut, and spoke of the post-1945 Attlee government's vision of justice for all.
