Faculty speaks out against Prime Minister’s ‘left-wing criminal justice lawyers’ comments

“Faculty deplores the Prime Minister’s comments, made in an interview on LBC on 28 July, regarding “left-wing criminal justice lawyers.” These comments go hand-in-hand with recent pronouncements by the Home Secretary and appear to be part of a strategy to undermine the rule of law.

 

It is essential to a fair system of justice that those charged with crime have legal representation. Without such representation, no conviction would be safe. For the Prime Minister to undermine that principle, with the aim of political posturing, is damaging to the rule of law.

 

Lawyers represent their clients without associating themselves with the merits, or the politics, of their client’s position. They do so because that is their duty. The nature of this duty does not change whether the lawyer is prosecuting or defending a case. The Prime Minister knows this and yet sees fit to make political capital from a baseless mischaracterisation. In so doing, he risks damaging the system of criminal justice irreparably.

 

Moreover, the current rhetoric around lawyers is irresponsible and risks serious consequences. Those in the criminal justice system - judges, prosecution and defence - have kept the legal system afloat in very difficult circumstances. For the Prime Minister and his Government to treat key workers in this manner is entirely unsatisfactory.”