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It’s the hope that kills you…

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19 July 2024 / David Greene
Issue: 8080 / Categories: Opinion , Criminal , In Court , Profession , Legal aid focus
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Can the new government turn commitments to the justice process into serious change? David Greene digs deep

A new government, new people and new themes and priorities. We lose Alex Chalk KC as Lord Chancellor, Victoria Prentis KC (Attorney General (AG)) and the aptly named Robert Courts KC (Solicitor General (SG)), as does Parliament because they all lost their seats at the election. The Bar will, no doubt, welcome them back to practice. The new Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Shabana Mahmood, is also a barrister and has been shadow Lord Chancellor for a short time, so steps easily into the role.

The full ministerial team in the Ministry have also been appointed. They are career politicians save for the Prisons Minister who is James Timpson of Timpson shoe repair fame. We have a new AG in the form of Richard Hermer KC. A full-time practitioner at Matrix Chambers, until a few weeks ago, Richard is a well-known practitioner in human rights. He follows

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