Ouch
Top silks have publicly slammed the Lord Chancellor Liz Truss for failing adequately to defend the judges involved in the Brexit legal challenge.
In an open letter (pictured below) to Truss, 17 QCs from Temple-based set One Crown Office Row have revealed they were left “dismayed” by her “inadequate defence” of The Lord Chief Justice, Sir Terence Etherton and Lord Justice Sales.
Branded “ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE” by one newspaper, the top legal trio have come under heavy fire since the historic ruling last Thursday that stated Article 50 invocation must be conditional on parliamentary approval.
The letter — which was posted on Twitter yesterday evening by legal affairs journalist Joshua Rozenberg QC — gently reminds Truss that the judges “had not invited proceedings but were undertaking their solemn task of ruling on the dispute before them according to the law”.
Branding the abuse “ill-founded”, the letter — which is hand-signed by ex-Bar Council chairman Guy Mansfield QC — quotes a speech made by Truss during her swearing in ceremony back in July, in which she claimed “we [UK] have the greatest judiciary in the world”.
So perhaps, Lord Chancellor, it’s time to stand by it.