The head of the bar’s representative body has accused Rishi Sunak of ‘startling ignorance’ about lawyers after the prime minister criticised Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer for being a 'lefty lawyer'. Sunak's comments come after an email was sent out by the Conservative party under home secretary Suella Braverman's name, following the unveiling of the government’s Illegal Migration Bill, criticising an 'activist blob' of left-wing lawyers, civil servants and Labour for blocking its attempts to stop small boat crossings.

Sunak criticised Starmer for being a 'lefty lawyer' during a heated PMQs on Wednesday. ‘He wanted to, in his words, scrap the Rwanda deal, he voted against measures to deport foreign criminals, and he even argued against deportation flights. We know why, because on this matter - he talked about his legal background - he is just another lefty lawyer standing in our way,’ the prime minister said.

Meanwhile, an email from the Conservative party was sent out on Tuesday under home secretary Suella Braverman’s name. The email said: ‘We tried to stop the small boat crossings without changing our laws. But an activist blob of left-wing lawyers, civil servants and the Labour party blocked us.’

Chancellor of the exchequer Rishi Sunak

Sunak criticised Starmer for being a 'lefty lawyer' during PMQs on Wednesday

Source: James Veysey/Shutterstock

A Conservative party spokesperson said: 'This was a CCHQ email and the wording wasn’t seen by the home secretary. We are now reviewing our internal clearance processes.'

Bar Council chair Nick Vineall KC said the email and Sunak’s comments ‘betray a startling and regrettable ignorance about the role of lawyers in society’.

He added: ‘Lawyers represent their clients within the legal framework that Parliament creates. Lawyers should not be associated with the causes of their clients as a result of representing their clients. Right-thinking people from across the political spectrum understand this. It is essential to the rule of law that members of the cabinet do too.’

Sunak is not the first prime minister to criticise the legal profession. Boris Johnson accused ‘lefty human rights lawyers’ of hampering the criminal justice system in his keynote speech to the Conservative party conference in 2020. Braverman’s predecessor, Priti Patel, denounced ‘lefty lawyers’ and ‘do-gooders’ in a conference speech.

 

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