Lord Hermer’s colourful choice of client over his years in the legal profession has earned him continuing press coverage in the wake of recent Gerry Adams news. Jenrick, who some have dubbed ‘the Herminator,’ smells blood…
Brexit is another relevant policy area Hermer has dived into in the past. Back in 2019 the Attorney General served as barrister for notorious human rights pressure group Liberty (the same one for which he represented Shamima Begum), during which he tried and failed to sue Boris out of breaching the Benn Act – current Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn’s piece of legislation that would have blocked a no-deal Brexit. That should surprise no-one by now…
Hermer said in his argument that Liberty’s challenge should be brought before the courts immediately that they had a “constitutional duty to be seized of the matter” because if Boris wasn’t bound by the Benn Act he would cause “irremediable damage”:
“Accordingly, in order to avoid irremediable consequences of fundamental constitutional importance, it is essential that the lawfulness of those steps is determined before such irreversible consequences are caused.”
The barrister failed in his bid. Hermer will still be Attorney General when Starmer resumes EU negotiations next month. Labour is so far endeavouring to prove that Brexit isn’t so irreversible after all…
Sarah Pochin at Reform Scotland’s manifesto launch event: “I really wanted to come on in a Reform tartan burka, but apparently I wasn’t allowed… One day let’s do one of these events not live-streamed. We’ll do all the naughty stuff…”