Good morning. In 2020, the government hit out at “activist lawyers” who successfully challenged Home Office asylum decisions. It came as a shock to the legal profession, with the Bar Council warning the government of the consequences of targeting lawyers.
They were ignored. Instead, the attacks ramped up.
Two years later, former prime minister Boris Johnson, who appears to have coined the term “lefty human rights lawyers”, accused the legal profession of “abetting the work of criminal gangs”.
These attacks then took a dark turn in the past few weeks, when Jacqueline McKenzie, a leading lawyer who has steadfastly advocated for victims of the Windrush scandal, was the subject of a Conservative party dossier, circulated amongst the rightwing press.
The dossier stated she had represented asylum seekers challenging deportation decisions and suggested she had links with the Labour party. In the wake of critical articles, McKenzie was forced to review her security, following threats to drown her “like an asylum seeker” and leave dead bodies at her property.
I spoke to Guardian legal correspondent Haroon Siddique on how the legal profession was dragged into the culture war, and why many are worried about the consequences of these verbal attacks.
In depth: ‘They’ve been a convenient scapegoat when things aren’t going the government’s way’
It’s long been convenient for the government of the day to blame someone else when their policies aren’t working, or when they’re getting bad press.
Historically, it’s often been around criminal courts, where politicians, for example, criticise certain sentencing as being too lenient. “In that sense, it’s not a new thing, but it’s ramped up massively under this administration,” Haroon explains.
He points to the extraordinary front pages of the Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph in 2016, which attacked the judges who ruled that only parliament had the legal power to trigger article 50 (which would initiate Brexit). They were denounced as “enemies of the people”.
“That was a watershed moment, though it was judges rather than lawyers, and an unprecedented attack. Liz Truss was lord chancellor at the time and she was criticised for not defending the judiciary,” Haroon says. “She did in the end, issuing a half-hearted statement, but it really didn’t go very far in defending them.”
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Another plank of the culture wars
These attacks against legal professionals have steadily increased as the government has failed to meet its pledges around immigration. Since coming into power in 2010, every Conservative prime minister – from David Cameron who promised to reduce net migrations to “tens of thousands” to Rishi Sunak who has vowed to “stop the boats” – has failed to meet their pledge.
“The government is under real pressure on immigration,” says Haroon. “Some of it is self-imposed because they set targets, they come up with all these schemes and none of them are working. The thing to stress is that it’s entirely proper for lawyers to challenge the legality of government policy in the courts. That’s what judicial review is for. In recent years, they’ve been a convenient scapegoat when things aren’t going the government’s way. I think it’s just another plank of the culture wars.”
It has been the modus operandi for Johnson, Truss, and now Sunak, though some appear surprised by the latter. But, according to Haroon, they shouldn’t be. “During his leadership campaign, he put out a press release where he was very critical of Jolyon Maugham, of the Good Law project, who revealed the existence of the VIP lane for PPE during Covid.”
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Labour’s position isn’t that different
Jacqueline McKenzie is the head of immigration at Leigh Day. In 2021, her work earned her a spot on a list of the top 10 most powerful black Britons.
“She’s been involved in the Rwanda case, but she’s best known for her work on Windrush. Everyone recognises that there was a huge injustice there and she was at the forefront of challenging that injustice,” Haroon says.
Then, on a Saturday morning in August, McKenzie became aware of a Conservative party dossier sent to right-leaning newspapers. She was attacked as a “lefty lawyer blocking Rwanda deportations”.
“The reason they picked on her is because Labour employed her to do something for them and from that she became a ‘Labour lawyer’. But if you are employed by a political party, it doesn’t mean you’re part of that party.
“As with individual clients, you take cases when you’re given them by people, but that doesn’t mean you’re necessarily associated with them. [The dossier] became a way for them to use this narrative that they’re determined to push that Labour is in league with lefty lawyers to stop the Rwanda scheme.”
In an article for the Guardian, McKenzie wrote that the dossier ignored the fact that she had spent 90% of her time doing Windrush work, which included sitting on the independent advisory group that delivered the Windrush Lessons Learned review, set up by Sajid Javid.
As for Labour’s position on immigration, there isn’t that much of a difference between them and the Conservatives, Haroon says. Shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock admitted that Labour would use controversial barges and military camps to temporarily house asylum seekers if it won the next election, and Keir Starmer has also been urged to defend the legal profession against government attacks.
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‘A really sinister development’
The dossier against individual lawyers like McKenzie is a “really sinister development”, Haroon adds. McKenzie said she has been forced to take security advice and precautions as a result of a number of threats.
“It’s bad enough to have senior politicians saying things about lawyers as a group, but to target individual lawyers with a dossier is really lowering the bar,” he says. “The Bar Council, who represent barristers, and the Law Society, who represent solicitors, put out a joint statement, which is quite rare. They’re distinct organisations, they don’t do that very often. So I think the strength of feeling was demonstrated by that,” Haroon says.
He also points to the intervention by two veteran Conservative law officers – Dominic Grieve, a former attorney general, and Edward Garnier, a Conservative peer and former solicitor general – who have criticised the political rhetoric against “lefty lawyers”, warning that it could lead to increased abuse.
“Lawyers are an easy target because there is a perception amongst the public that they are really well paid. Whereas, in fact, for the people doing immigration work, criminal work – the bread and butter stuff – some of the fees they get are very, very low. There are commercial lawyers, partners in city firms in London, that are making obscene amounts of money, but that’s not reflective of lawyers as a whole.
“When I covered the criminal barristers’ strike, I knew people who said to me, ‘Why are they complaining?’, and I had to explain to them that you can’t equate commercial lawyers with criminal lawyers,” Haroon says.
The Conservative party defended their dossier and said lawyers should not be “exempt from criticism”, hitting out at those it said had engaged in “abusive late legal challenges to frustrate removals”.
But, adds Haroon: “There’s something’s very wrong when a lawyer has to get enhanced security.”
What else we’ve been reading
Tributes have been paid to TV legend Michael Parkinson (pictured above left), who has died aged 88. One of television’s most famous faces, it is estimated that Parkinson interviewed more than 2,000 celebrities during the course of his career, with Guardian writer Simon Hattenstone describing him as “the great British talkshow host”. Nazia Parveen, acting deputy editor, newsletters
July was the hottest month on record globally, with parts of Europe hit with several heatwaves. We know that these heatwaves result in thousands of deaths, but what exactly happens to our bodies when faced with scorching temperatures? Visual journalist Aliya Uteuova paints a difficult picture. Aamna
“We’ve got sea – we should be able to use it.” Is it time to quit UK beaches? This summer, constant sewage alerts have forced many out of the water, with Clea Skopeliti interviewing UK sea swimmers who are turning their back on their favoured saltwater spots. Nazia
Not a read, but worth a listen. The Lionesses have reached a World Cup final - a first for any men’s or women’s senior team since 1966. They face Spain, a formidable team who have defied the odds off the pitch to secure a place in their first WWC final. Tune in to the Guardian Women’s Football Weekly, where Faye Carruthers, Suzanne Wrack, Sophie Downey and Anita Asante delve into the semi against Australia and the final to come. Aamna
Too juicy not to mention: Coleen Rooney speaks to Vogue about the epic Wagatha Christie battle. Not sure if this is deliberate but Rooney bears an uncanny resemblance to her nemesis, Vardy, in the photoshoot. Nazia
The front pages
“Thousands miss top grades as A-level results plummet” is our top story in the Guardian print edition today. Michael Parkinson, the dear departed “King of chat”, is pictured. “Our greatest” says the Daily Mirror which runs a full-page portrait. “The greatest” says the Sun which shows “Parky” with a young Muhammad Ali. “Goodbye to the best” says the Metro which has an eye-catching montage of Parkinson moments. He’s farewelled in various ways on other fronts too of course. The Daily Mail’s lead story is “Museum sacks top expert over its missing treasures” while the i reports “Generation of young people in poor areas left behind”. “Yes! Britain can afford tax cuts” reckons the Daily Express, saying it’s had a look at Treasury figures. “Rules change lets anyone buy a Covid jab” is the lead story in the Times while the Telegraph splashes with “France stops fewer migrants despite £480m aid”. “Labour waters down pledges to strengthen workers’ rights” will no doubt be of keen interest among the Financial Times’ readership.
Something for the weekend
Our critics’ roundup of the best things to watch, read and listen to right now
TV
Colosseum (BBC iPlayer)
Colosseum, the new BBC series on the ancient amphitheatre, really should have an exclamation mark after it. It’s just so – exclamationy! A rollicking journey through 300 years of Roman history, via the construction of the enormous monument and the bloody games within, it could not be a more appealing introduction to the subject. Lucy Mangan
Music
Jon Batiste: World Music Radio
Following a Grammy best album win, this record posits the jazz artist, pictured above, as a very 21st-century kind of artist: pop-facing, unafraid of AutoTune and cravenly manufactured pop. His best ideas arrive when he sounds most like himself: an artist with a deep knowledge of musical history and an iconoclastic streak. When he tries too hard, it simply adds to the slush pile of nondescript pop. Alexis Petridis
Film
Strays
The cute talking pigs of the Babe films taught audiences to love real animals with CGI human-talking mouths; I myself was always agnostic. But this brutally funny stoner comedy about four pottymouthed stray dogs (voiced by Will Ferrell, Jamie Foxx, Isla Fisher and Randall Park) has changed my mind. You’ll believe a dog can talk – and be extremely abusive. Peter Bradshaw
Podcast
Where Is Alex?
All episodes widely available
Sixteen-year-old Alexander Sloley vanished in north London 15 years ago, and he’s never been found. Reporter Julian Druker is determined to find clues – and asks whether his race meant the case didn’t get enough prominence. Along the way, he speaks to Sloley’s mother, Nerissa Tivy, and examines possible links to another disappearance. Hannah Verdier
Today in Focus
The wellness-to-conspiracy pipeline
For many people, alternative therapies and wellness routines provide comfort and pleasure. For others, they can be a pathway to far-right conspiracies, says author and journalist James Ball
Cartoon of the day | Sarah Akinterinwa
The Upside
A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad
At first sight, the idea of putting edible bones in plant-based pork ribs might seem at best gross, and at worst a deliberate ploy to wind up vegans and vegetarians already perturbed by the increasing trend of making their dietary options look and taste like meat. But the co-founder of Juicy Marbles, which will be making the ribs, insists that his initial goal was reducing waste, and “not wanting the bones to be garbage”.Adds Vladimir Mićković: “My hope is that we can also infuse the bones with flavour, so you could also cook them in a broth. To some, bones from plants may be an ideological provocation, but we shouldn’t take these things too seriously. It’s just fun. Bones invite you to eat with your hands and share with the whole table.”
If it helps reduce the consumption of animal products, that can only be a good thing. Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture are dominated by those from livestock, particularly cattle, which make up 15% of all global emissions. Plants cause far lower emissions, and cutting meat and dairy consumption also slashes pollution, and land and water use, with scientists saying it is the single biggest way for people to reduce their impact on the planet.
Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday
Bored at work?
And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android. Until Monday.
