Lord Chancellor criticised for slow response to attacks on judicial independence
The Lord Chancellor, Liz Truss is facing mounting criticism for being slow to defend the independence of the judiciary, following an unprecedented media and political uproar over the Art 50 case.
National newspaper headlines attacked the three judges who ruled in the case, Santos and Miller v Secretary of State for Exiting the EU [2016] EWHC 2768 (Admin), Lord Thomas, the Lord Chief Justice, Sir Terence Etherton, the Master of the Rolls, and Lord Justice Sales. Most notoriously, The Daily Mail branded the judges “enemies of the people” in a front-page headline.
By convention, judges cannot defend themselves from personal attacks. Instead, the Lord Chancellor has a statutory duty to protect the independence of the judiciary.
However, Truss waited two days before issuing a statement that said: “The independence of the judiciary is the foundation upon which our rule of law is built and our judiciary is rightly respected the world over for its independence and impartiality.”
She has declined to comment on the issue further.
Some 17 QCs from One Crown Office Row have since written to Truss expressing dismay at her “inadequate defence” of the judges. They said: “The judges have been publicly accused of bias and in effect of breaking their judicial oath. The accusations have come not only from the press but from MPs.”
Conservative MPs are reported to have expressed “huge concern” to Truss about her handling of the criticism, at a private meeting this week. Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve described Truss’s response as “muted”.
Lord Judge, the former Lord Chief Justice, has also criticised her response. In an interview on BBC Newsnight , he said Truss had a “statutory obligation” to defend the judiciary and that he was disappointed that her response was “a little too late and not a lot”.
“To say you believe in independence of judges is fine but it doesn’t actually address why this matters at a particular time.”
The historic decision, which means MPs must be given a vote on whether the UK can start the process of leaving the EU, is due to be heard by the Supreme Court next month, with a decision likely to be handed down in January.
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