‘Deeply unfair’: how attorney general became lightning rod for criticism of Starmer

Hermer’s critics say he is obsessed with process and that he dresses up political opinions as objective legal fact. Photograph: Victoria Jones/REX/Shutterstock

If, at the end of last year, you had asked Labour insiders to choose Keir Starmer’s defining decision as prime minister, they might have said means testing winter fuel payments or announcing billions in tax rises on business.

Now, however, many believe Starmer’s most consequential move – and the one that will determine the direction of his government – is making his friend and former colleague Richard Hermer attorney general.