Johnson and Patel's ‘hostility’ to lawyers is endangering their safety, over 800 legal figures warn
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Priti Patel are introduced to recently graduated Police Officers during a visit to North Yorkshire Police headquarters
MORE than 800 legal figures have accused the Prime Minister and Home Secretary of endangering lawyers’ safety and undermining the rule of law through their “hostile” attacks on the profession.
The letter, signed by three former justices of the Supreme Court, urges Boris Johnson and Priti Patel to apologise for attacking lawyers for simply “seeking to hold the government to the law.”
In recent months, the pair have escalated abusive language against immigration solicitors, branding those upholding the rights of asylum-seekers facing deportation as “activist” lawyers.
More from this author
In an exclusive investigation, BETHANY RIELLY looks at how the state targeted leading politicians and campaigning groups — labelling many well-known figures 'extremists' and 'subversives' for attempting to hold the police to account
On September 4, 16 Eritrean asylum-seekers were arrested at a protest against their country’s dictatorship and its supporters here. Since then, questions have been raised about whether the British authorities are doing enough to protect activists and asylum-seekers from the ‘long arm’ of the regime in Asmara
