Judges have received death threats, LCJ reveals

The lady chief justice has once again called out personal attacks on judges - telling parliamentarians today that some of her judges have been doorstepped and received death threats as a result of 'inaccurate reporting' on their rulings. 

Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill told journalists last week that she was ‘deeply troubled’ by Sir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch’s exchange during Prime Minister’s Questions this month about a Gazan family that was allegedly allowed to enter the UK under a scheme for Ukrainian refugees. The prime minister said a judge had made the ‘wrong decision’ by letting the family settle in the UK.

Appearing before the House of Lords constitution committee today, the lady chief justice was asked again about the PMQ exchange.

Carr said: ‘It’s really important to understand that no one has ever suggested, no one is saying there should not be robust and healthy debate both in and outside parliament, including criticism if necessary of judgments. But the judicial process and judicial independence have to be respected.’ If judgments are wrong, a person can appeal, Carr noted. If the law is wrong, parliament has the prerogative to change the law.

Debate based on fact - not misconception - is an important part of open justice, Carr said. ‘However, criticism of a judgment, debating a judgment is one thing. Inaccurate reporting and abuse of a judge who cannot speak out to defend themselves is another. The trigger for my concern in the context of the need to respect the judicial process is the dangers that arise out of inaccurate reporting.’

As a result of inaccurate headlines and subsequent publicity, Carr told the committee that judges have been doorstepped and received death threats, and their families are living in fear.

‘I welcome reporting and criticism but what I have always asked for, from day one, is fair, objective and accurate reporting,’ Carr added. ‘This is not about closing the debate down. The debate should be wide open. It is for the courts to decide whether a judgment is wrong. But it is absolutely unacceptable - as I must protect my judges and defend them - that they are exposed to the sort of comments and reporting that shatter their lives.’

The lady chief justice said she did not enjoy having to stick her head above the parapet on these issues but stressed that she had a duty to defend her judges. 

The latest UK Judicial Attitude Survey revealed that four in 10 judges now fear for their safety.