For evidence of Labour doubt in the Starmer project, look no further than his attorney general

Richard Hermer: ‘[if critics] want to pick a fight with the government because it says international law is important … that’s a fight I’d quite look forward to.’ Photograph: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing/Getty Images

Keir Starmer went to considerable effort to bring in his old friend and colleague Richard Hermer as the new attorney general in July. To facilitate the move, the barrister not only had to be ennobled, but it required giving the boot to Emily Thornberry – a long-serving shadow cabinet member who’d held the post in opposition for several years – which came as a surprise.

Friends of Hermer soon began to wonder how long he would last in post, as they suspected that the Labour government would not be radical enough to live up to his principles (particularly on Israel, the KC being a critic of its occupation of the Palestinian territories). And quitting would be low-stakes when an easy return to the day job awaits.