Lawyers hit out at critics of UK attorney general

Senior lawyers have condemned the "venomous" and "deeply personal" attacks on the attorney general, Richard Hermer, warning that they were causing "immense and untold damage" to society and the rule of law.

- Eleni Courea

In a letter to the Guardian, two former Bar Council presidents and two former Law Society presidents accused Hermer's critics of undermining public trust in the legal system. Hermer, who was appointed attorney general by Keir Starmer in July, has come under sustained criticism about his past client list and political views he expressed while working as a barrister. He has also become the target of internal government critics, said to include cabinet ministers, who have accused him of slowing down legislation and disguising his personal views as objective advice.

The letter, signed by former Bar Council chairs Stephen Hockman and Sam Townend and former Law Society presidents Christina Blacklaws and I Stephanie Boyce, condemned the "deeply personal and indeed venomous attacks" levelled against Hermer and other lawyers. It underlined the principle that lawyers who either represent the government or advance a case against it did so irrespective of their own personal views. Anyone making suggestions to the contrary was "doing immense and untold damage, not only to our legal system but to society as a whole", the letter added.