Robert Jenrick pulled out a judge’s wig from a briefcase to hold up as a prop for his Tory conference speech, during which he launched a fierce attack on judges
Robert Jenrick has been accused of pushing a Trump-style plan that could mean the Supreme Court is “subservient” to powerful politicians.
The Shadow Justice Secretary today launched a fierce attack on judges during his conference speech, pledging to put ministers back in charge of judicial appointments.
The top Tory, who pulled out a judge’s wig from a briefcase to hold up as a prop, said he would never allow “political activists of any political hue to don the wig, ever again”.
And he claimed to have “uncovered dozens of judges with links to open borders charities, who take to social media to broadcast their open borders views, who spent their whole careers fighting to keep illegal migrants in this country”.
But he was savaged by the Government who accused Mr Jenrick of attacking “British values” by threatening to “trash the institutions and traditions that hold our country together.”
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Former Justice of the Supreme Court, Lord Sumption, said Mr Jenrick’s plans to sack “activist” judges are a “serious mistake”.
He warned that giving British politicians more power over the judiciary could move the UK closer to the US.
“It would bring us somewhat closer to [the American] model. In the United States the Supreme Court has become subservient to the President and enabled him to behave like an autocrat,” he said. “I think that’s a serious business in the United States and we should be very careful to take warning from it.”
Lord Sumption went on: “If judges were appointed in today’s polarised world by the Lord Chancellor, I do not think the public would have the same confidence in their independence.
“The only possible reason for going back to the old system would be to appoint judges who were less independent or more political than the ones appointed by the Judicial Appointments Commission.”
Deputy PM and Justice Secretary David Lammy said: “Robert Jenrick calls himself a patriot, but he tramples on the British values he claims to defend. He calls himself a Conservative, but he threatens to trash the institutions and traditions that hold our country together.
“The independence of judges from politicians is not optional. It is the cornerstone of British democracy. When politicians start deciding which judges can stay or go, that is democratic backsliding and Robert Jenrick knows it.”
In his attack on judges during his speech, Mr Jenrick said: “They dishonour generations of independent jurists who came before them, and they undermine people’s trust in the law itself. Judges who blur the line between adjudication and activism can have no place in our justice system.”
He continued: “We will restore the proper role of our judiciary, putting ultimate power back where it belongs, in the hands of Parliament, and ministers, accountable to you, the people of our country.
“So I can announce today that we will restore the office of the Lord Chancellor to its former glory. We will reverse the constitutional vandalism of Tony Blair and New Labour.
“The Lord Chancellor will once again appoint the judges. No more quangos and they will be instructed never to permit political activists of any political hue to don the wig, ever again.”
Elsewhere, Mr Jenrick was today warned not to prejudice a future appeal on the decision to drop terrorism charges against Kneecap rapper Liam Og O hAnnaidh.
O hAnnaidh was charged with the alleged display of a flag in support of proscribed terrorist group Hezbollah at a London gig last November, but the case against him was thrown out due to a technical error.
Lord Hermer, the Attorney General, suggested Mr Jenrick should “carefully consider any further public comments to avoid any risk of prejudicing any future proceedings”.
The Crown Prosecution Service last night confirmed it will appeal the decision for the case to be thrown out.
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