A government minister has used the most inflammatory populist language yet deployed at Westminster to describe immigration lawyers, accusing them of being ‘anti-British’.
Skills minister Andrea Jenkyns, MP for the West Yorkshire constituency of Morley and Outwood, used the term in a letter to home secretary Suella Braverman over the so-called ‘invasion’ of UK shores by asylum-seekers. Jenkyns published the letter on Twitter.
‘You were right to describe this as an invasion and many of my constituents thank you for the candour and honesty you have brought to this issue,’ Jenkyns wrote on 1 November. ‘In January 2022 I met with the then minister, Tom Pursglove MP, to share my support for the government’s Rwanda relocation plan. You will know that this fair and proportionate plan was brought to a halt by anti-British activist lawyers and a left-leaning media who sought to frustrate the government’s good work in this area.’
Jenkyns’ comments are certain to dismay solicitors concerned about potential threats to their safety in connection with their work. In 2020 lawyers wrote to Priti Patel to express their concern after a knifeman threatened to kill an immigration solicitor in an assault colleagues say was directly motivated by comments made by the then home secretary.
The Law Society has repeatedly called on the government to halt populist attacks on lawyers variously described as 'lefty', 'activist' and now 'anti-British' for challenging government actions in the courts.
President Lubna Shuja said today: ‘Immigration lawyers who ensure British laws are upheld in British courts are protecting British values.
‘It is deeply irresponsible for a government minister to use inflammatory language to describe lawyers who are doing their jobs to ensure justice for all.’
Secret Barrister tweeted: 'Lord Chancellor @DominicRaab yesterday swore an oath to respect the rule of law and defend judicial independence. I look forward to him speaking out in defence of the lawyers who, for doing their job, are being subjected to the extremist rhetoric of his colleague @andreajenkyns.'
Criminal barrister Robert Levack of 187 Fleet Street tweeted: 'Ms Jenkyns MP speaks the language of fascism, plain and simple. 'anti-British activist lawyers and a left-leaning media' If it walks like a fascist, and talks like fascist, then a fascist it be. Words can kill. Such words as these have killed, including MPs.
This article is now closed for comment.
27 Readers' comments