The shadow attorney general, David Wolfson, has recused himself from giving legal advice to Kemi Badenoch on Ukraine and Russia because he is representing the sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich in a court case, the Conservatives have announced.
Lord Wolfson, a senior KC and Tory peer, is part of the legal team attempting to recover billions of pounds in frozen assets belonging to Abramovich in the Channel Islands. The recusal means he will not advise on the possible deployment of UK troops to Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire with Russia.
At Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Sir Keir Starmer criticised the arrangement, asking: "How can someone sit in her shadow cabinet, advising someone trying to escape sanctions, and pretend that their policy is to support us on sanctions?" A spokesperson for Ms Badenoch responded that Lord Wolfson does not sit in the shadow cabinet, and that the Jersey case had no bearing on the £2.5bn from Abramovich's sale of Chelsea Football Club, which the UK government wants to use for Ukraine's reconstruction.
The spokesperson said Lord Wolfson "has recused himself from legal advice on Ukraine and Russia, [which] as you know is standard practice", and that Ms Badenoch was delighted with his performance. The official confirmed this meant he could not advise on the deployment of UK troops but said no details of such a deployment had yet been provided. The spokesperson pointed to other shadow ministers with legal backgrounds, including Robert Jenrick, Victoria Atkins and Helen Grant, as sources of legal advice.
Labour has criticised the arrangement as an unacceptable conflict of interest. The Conservatives, meanwhile, have attacked the Attorney General, Richard Hermer, over cases he took as a barrister, including representing former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams and Liberty in the Shamima Begum case. A Tory spokesperson drew a distinction between cases and causes, saying: "Lawyers represent cases, not causes. What Richard Hermer has done is represent causes." When asked for an example of such causes, the spokesperson said: "I don't have any to hand." The Conservatives have also criticised Sir Keir Starmer for cases he took as a barrister, again on the grounds that he had taken on causes rather than cases.
