Following the
excitement of the long election campaign and result, I wanted to reflect on one
very promising ministerial appointment. This concerns new Attorney General,
Richard Hermer KC.
But first,
lets take a trip back in time to an earlier post about a new Attorney General.
This was back in February 2020 when I wrote about the appointment of a
‘relatively unknown barrister’ called Suella Braverman. Back then, I expressed
alarm about her strident views and apparent lack of understanding. A week or so
before her appointment she said - “…our Parliament must retrieve power ceded
to another place – the courts”. She also said - “Questions that fell hitherto
exclusively within the prerogative of elected Ministers have yielded to
judicial activism”. So this person was hardly fan of the judiciary! Four and a half years is a long time.
I wrote back then –
‘This feels more like an appointment by the PM to get one
back on the judges who had the cheek to declare that his unlawful prorogation
was….unlawful. The Conservative Home blog reads a bit like a job application’
More recently she has advocated for the UK to leave the
European Convention on Human Rights.
This was one
of many appointments under the last government that appeared to be based on
political preference or personal reward.
And so to the
appointment of Richard Hermer KC – what a contrast. There is no doubt that he
is a big hitter. Many lawyers who find themselves in government are awarded the
honorary title of KC, to add gravitas to the title. Our new attorney has been a real (!) KC* since 2009. As a barrister he worked out of Doughty Street
Chambers and then Matrix Chambers. He is also a Deputy High Court Judge.
He acted for many victims of the Grenfell Tower disaster and led the team that achieved the settlement of the legal claims. He has been involved in high profile environmental claims including the well publicised case of of Ella Kissi Debrah concerning a death linked to air pollution. I don’t propose to turn this post into a CV(!)**
The point is
that he is a serious barrister, committed to justice and to the rule of law. He is
also an expert in Public Law and Human Rights which a huge relief to us all…
After the
last few years, this comes as a very welcome breath of fresh air!
Let’s hope
there are many more to come.
*originally QC
**Richard Hermer KC - Matrix Chambers (matrixlaw.co.uk)
