Lord Hermer: Two-tier justice claims are disgusting
Lord Hermer has labelled allegations of two-tier justice in Britain 'disgusting'.
The Attorney General said the criticism, which is widely used by Conservative and Reform politicians, is 'offensive' to police, prosecutors and judges 'applying the law'.
Lord Hermer, who is the Government's chief legal adviser, said politicians using the phrase need to think about the 'dangers' they are posing to the UK's 'essential institutions'.
Speaking to the BBC, Lord Hermer said: 'What some people were seeking to do – bringing up 'two-tier' – was to make a comparison with the way that people were being treated for trying to kill police officers – and I want to reiterate that kill police officers – with the response to protests on the streets of London.
'You can have views as to whether they're right protests or wrong protests, but they were not producing violence that you could even begin legitimately to compare to what was going on [during] the riots.
'That's where the two-tier comes from. It is frankly disgusting to start to draw those types of comparisons.'
He added: 'I think it's offensive to our police. It's offensive to our crown prosecutors who are trying to apply the law in the best faith. It is offensive to the courts, where independent judges are applying the law to reach the right sentences.
'We don't have a two-tiered justice system. We have one justice system, that is an independent justice system...and I think we all need to get behind it, not seek to undermine it.'
Claims that the UK operates a two-tier justice system emerged in the wake of last summer's riots, which broke out after the Southport murders.
Critics argued that some rioters were treated more harshly than other protesters, and that the Government's decision to use tough sentences to dissuade rioting was at odds with their early release policy for prisoners to tackle overcrowding in jails.
Two-tier justice allegations have become one of the most highly charged arguments against Sir Keir Starmer from the Right.
Nigel Farage told The Telegraph that Lord Hermer's comments about two-tier justice were wrong.
The Reform UK leader cited the case of Lucy Connolly, the mother jailed for 31 months in 2024 for inciting racial hatred after the Southport murders, whose sentence has been highlighted as an example of 'two-tier' justice.
'The public have lost trust in our judicial system and in people like Lord Hermer. The Lucy Connolly case shows that the public are right. We are disgusted,' Mr Farage said.
Richard Tice, the deputy Reform leader, who introduced a bill in Parliament this week to give the public the right to appeal 'unduly harsh' sentences, said: 'It is Hermer who is wrong and disgusting, for being so out of touch and in denial.
'He is the real danger to trust in our justice system.'
However, it is not just Reform or Conservative politicians that have taken the judiciary to task for an apparent 'two tier' approach .
Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, intervened to block guidance by the sentencing council giving special treatment to criminals from ethnic, religious and gender minorities.
She said it would lead to unacceptable 'differential treatment before the law'.
The Attorney General, who has been friends with the Prime Minister since they worked in the same chambers in 1996, has been dogged by controversy since taking up the post.
As a leading human rights barrister, he was criticised for his former clients, caused a backlash with his legal advice from some colleagues and warned Sir Keir that supporting Israeli strikes on Iran would breach international law.
He also claimed that calls for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights echoed Nazi Germany, later apologising for the 'clumsy' remarks.
'Hermer defends those who hate Britain'
Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, urged Sir Keir to sack Lord Hermer, saying: 'Gerry Adams. Shamima Begum. Osama bin Laden's right-hand man. Lord Hermer has spent much of his life defending those who hate Britain.'
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 documentary Starmer's Stormy Year, Lord Hermer said he was 'untroubled' by criticism of his work as a barrister before entering politics.
'The attacks on me are based on the fact that I represented some clients – obviously over 30 years, I represented thousands of clients. But the attacks are [that] I represented some individuals with reprehensible political views,' he said.
'It's a bit like attacking a journalist for the person that they're interviewing or a doctor for the nature of their patient. Lawyers are professionally obliged to represent those who come to them for cases.
'You can't say no because you don't like someone's politics. The whole justice system falls apart if you do that. It's really important. So on a kind of political level, I am untroubled by attacks on that.'
He added: 'Frankly, it tickles most of my family and friends that I'm being portrayed as some huge lefty, because that's not who I am. I'm progressive, and I'm deeply pragmatic in my politics.'
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'And we do believe that Scotland and the Scottish government takes its own contribution seriously and will be a responsible domestic partner in UK security.' She added: 'The incredible industry we have here is underappreciated — MSPs themselves admitted this at Holyrood recently. 'What's important is that we all have a role, including the first minister, in taking steps towards making the environment in which we all operate one of understanding and support. 'Any political hostility and/or reticence towards the defence industry feels out of step with current challenges, and indeed opportunities. 'And there is now a huge opportunity for Scotland, whether that's building satellites in Glasgow or ships on the Forth, which has the potential to provide a huge boost to the economy.' A Scottish government spokesman said: 'We recognise the importance of the aerospace, defence and shipbuilding sectors for Scotland's economy. Together they provide high value jobs, support across the wider supply chain and make a valuable contribution to local, regional and national economies.' But he added: 'Scottish ministers have been consistently clear on the Scottish government's long-standing policy position that it does not use public money to support the manufacture of munitions.'
