UK Labour peer Lord Maurice Glasman has called for the attorney-general, Lord Richard Hermer, to be removed from his post, as tensions grow between the socially conservative and progressive arms of Sir Keir Starmer’s governing party.
Glasman, who founded the traditionalist Blue Labour group that is on the right of the party, described Hermer as “the absolute archetype of an arrogant, progressive fool who thinks that law is a replacement for politics”.
“They talk about the rule of law but what they want is a rule of lawyers,” he told the New Statesman.
Glasman’s intervention comes after weeks of mounting pressure on the attorney-general over his role in the UK’s proposed deal to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands back to Mauritius, their previous owner.
Under the proposal — which would allow Britain to comply with an advisory ruling by the International Court of Justice that the islands should be returned — the UK would then lease the biggest island, Diego Garcia, which is home to a crucial UK-US military base.
Hermer told the Financial Times in October that the deal — which has since been amended by the new Mauritian government — was “excellent” in balancing “an incredibly difficult amount of competing interests”.
He said it “secures a vital strategic asset whilst at the same time complying with our international law obligations to respect the right of self determination”.
Hermer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Glasman’s remarks.
Starmer’s spokesman said the prime minister has full confidence in Hermer.
“The prime minister appointed his whole cabinet, including the attorney-general, because they’re the best people to do the job and deliver on the priorities of the British people,” he said. “You’d expect the first job of any government is to put national security first and that is what the Chagos Islands deal does.”
Glasman’s Blue Labour movement has appealed to some of the party’s new MPs who fear the rising popularity of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
Leading Labour strategists, including Downing Street chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, have briefed MPs about the importance of developing robust policies around both legal and illegal migration. Reform topped a major national poll last week.
On Monday the government released footage of recent immigration raids as it trumpeted figures showing it had significantly boosted efforts to crack down on illegal working in Britain, with posters using Reform’s traditional colour purple.
A border security bill aiming to curb illegal migration also received its second reading in the House of Commons on Monday.
The legislation will give the government counterterrorism-style powers to tackle illegal migration and criminalise asylum seekers who seek to prevent rescue operations at sea.
The Conservatives have also taken aim at Hermer for comments he made before joining the government that calls to control UK borders could at times be dehumanising.
Hermer was a surprise appointment following Labour’s win in the UK general election in July, and became the first working lawyer to be appointed to the role without having served in Parliament in a century.
While his immediate background means he brings the perspective of a practising lawyer to the role, it also means he has been more vulnerable to criticism over potential conflicts of interests on cases being discussed by the government.
An ally and friend of Starmer, he was a human rights barrister known for his work on high-profile cases, including the alleged cover-up of killings by British forces in Afghanistan.