Richard Hermer is under fire again this morning as his deputies the Solicitor General and her predecessor publish proceeds from their former legal work in the MPs’ register of interests. Something that Hermer has eyebrow-raisingly refused so far to do…
In the meantime the Attorney General has visited the Parliamentary Assembly of the European Council to shower praise on lawyers and international law. Hermer says that “international law is the rule of law writ large” and states’ commitment to international law in these “challenging times” is vital to support the “pound and the Euro.” OK…
Hermer took the opportunity to spell out Labour’s commitment to each and all of the ECHR’s strictures:
“Now I’m proud to say that since taking office this new United Kingdom government has taken steps to uphold our obligations and the international rules based system… turning if I may to the European Convention on Human Rights. This new United Kingdom government is fully committed to the convention and upholding the international human rights framework as party to the convention… I’d like to be very clear: the new UK government will never withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights, or refuse to comply with judgments of the court, or requests for interim measures given in respect of the United Kingdom.“
Hermer goes on to claim the ECHR represents “the cornerstones not merely of western civilisation but of civilisation as such.” Co-conspirators may remember that the last Tory administration gave ministers the power to decide whether to comply by Rule 39 “interim measures,” which are used by the ECHR to, for example, ground expulsions of asylum seekers as a result of a last-minute legal challenge. The question of whether the UK should comply automatically with those measures is a lynchpin of efforts to deport foreign nationals…
Numerous countries ingore the ECHR in respect to many of its judgements – including the UK. Hermer is pledging to obey each and every constraint the foreign convention imposes on the same day that Labour publishes the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to stop the boats – the stronger contents of which will likely come to the attention of the ECtHR’s judges. The Attorney General has given the game away already…
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…”