Does he want his old job back?
With Lord Chancellor Liz Truss occupied by a developing prison crisis, her predecessor, Michael Gove, has waded into the the row over the right of newspapers to label top judges ‘ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE’ and other nasty things.
Fresh off a plane from the US, where he has been covering the US election for The Times, relative Twitter newbie Gove has had this to say on the matter this evening…
1/after a fascinating four days in US it's great to be back home – and have the chance to reflect on our constitutional debate
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) November 7, 2016
2/ The first thing to note is that judicial independence is critical to the rule of law and any proper democracy
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) November 7, 2016
3/the high court judges who've ruled on Article 50 are brilliant, thoughtful, wise and decent men – their judgment deserves respect
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) November 7, 2016
4/ Good people can differ on their reasoning and conclusion – but I find much of it persuasive
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) November 7, 2016
5/ however, even if I didn't agree with elements of their reasoning I'd personally treat the judgement of 3 brilliant men with respect
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) November 7, 2016
6/BUT the freedom of the press is also important- some of us may object to judgements – others to headlines – but let's remember Voltaire
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) November 7, 2016
7/a raucous, vigorous, press is just as much a guarantor of freedom as our independent judiciary – we are the land of Wilkes and Edward Coke
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) November 7, 2016
8/I note that commentators I admire like @NickCohen4 are equating questioning of a specific High Court ruling with Nazism #GodwinsLaw
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) November 7, 2016
9/ They exhibit the sins they attribute to others – intemperate criticism of both independent judiciary and free press is unwise
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) November 7, 2016
10/ and many miss the real story – we have a independent judges – ECJ is political court – we in UK have free press – EU – not so much
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) November 7, 2016
11/ people who object to what they damn as irrational tabloid media often deploy visceral and instinctive arguments themselves
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) November 7, 2016
12/The future of our nation masters. I'm passionate about one destiny. But I care even more about respecting different views and values
— Michael Gove (@michaelgove) November 7, 2016
Well, it certainly beats Truss’s statement.
Statement from the Lord Chancellor Elizabeth Truss pic.twitter.com/zUpnoumFi2
— Ministry of Justice (@MoJGovUK) November 5, 2016
But in terms of substance, it doesn’t really go beyond what Theresa May said yesterday about “valuing both the independence of our judiciary [and] the freedom of our press”.
Missing your old job, are you Michael?