UK right to weigh diplomacy before ‘calling out’ allies on international law breaches, says attorney general

Hermer says that in a ‘complicated’ world, leaders should be able to use ‘statecraft’ to consider whether to hold allies to account. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The Guardian

Nations are right to consider diplomatic relations when deciding whether to “call out” potential breaches of international law, the attorney general has said, after the UK government faced criticism over its reluctance to condemn the US attack on Venezuela.

In an interview with the Guardian, Richard Hermer, the government’s most senior law officer and a close ally of Keir Starmer, said that in a “complicated and dangerous” world, leaders should be able to use “statecraft” to consider other factors when establishing whether to hold allies to account.