SCOTLAND’S top judges have delivered a damning verdict on Tory attacks on “lefty lawyers” – accusing senior UK Government figures of attempting to politicise the legal profession.
In a submission to the Scottish Government’s call for views on its plans to reform legal regulation, the Senators of the College of Justice – the judges who preside over Scotland’s highest courts – singled out Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for recent comments which cast aspersions on lawyers in England.
He said in a tweet that some lawyers were "propping up a system of exploitation" which profited from illegal migration, in a post that sparked widespread outrage.
Former prime minister Boris Johnson also made repeated attacks on the legal profession, accusing lawyers who challenged his policies in court of trying to frustrate the UK Government for political ends.
The group of judges were responding to a public consultation on the Scottish Government’s proposed Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill – and warned ministers their plans were a “threat” to the independent judiciary.
Warning that the UK Government was already engaging in political attacks on lawyers and judges, the group called on the Holyrood administration to stay out of the legal sphere.
The submission read: “The dangers of transferring aspects of regulatory power over the legal profession from the judiciary to the Government, as proposed in this bill, cannot be overstated.
“Recently, we have seen attacks on lawyers by politicians who have, on multiple occasions, publicly criticised ‘lefty activist lawyers’ for ‘hamstringing’ the justice system by challenging the Government in court.
“To give a recent example, on July 25, 2023 the Prime Minister said: ‘The Labour Party, a subset of lawyers, criminal gangs – they're all on the same side, propping up a system of exploitation that profits from getting people to the UK illegally.’
“In response the Bar Council for England and Wales said: ‘Lawyers are not beyond reproach, and all professions have individuals who commit misconduct and are dishonest. Regulators are there to discipline them. The comments by the Prime Minister, however, are clearly an attempt to play politics with the legal profession. This damaging rhetoric undermines the rule of law, trust in lawyers and confidence in the UK legal system and is to be deplored.’
“That illustrates why neither political nor government regulation is an appropriate model for regulation of the legal profession.
“It is of critical constitutional importance that there is an independent legal profession willing and able to stand up for the citizen against the government of the day.”
'Legal profession under political control'
As it stands the Lord President of the Court of Session Lord Carloway (pictured below) has sole regulatory power over the Scottish legal profession, independent from Government and Parliament.
The Scottish Government’s proposed bill would give ministers the powers to “take into its own hands powers to control lawyers”, according to the country’s top judges.
Their warning added the bill would remove aspects of the Court of Session’s oversight of the legal profession and see the Scottish Government “impose itself” as a regulator of the legal profession.
The statement, signed by all of Scotland’s senior justiciary, went on: “These proposals are a threat to the independence of the legal profession and the judiciary.
“It is of critical constitutional importance that there is a legal profession which is willing and able to stand up for the citizen against the Government of the day.
“The judiciary is fundamentally opposed to this attempt to bring the legal profession under political control.
“If the bill is passed in its current form, Scotland will be viewed internationally as a country whose legal system is open to political abuse.”
The Scottish Government’s bill is informed by the recommendations of an independent review of the legal profession by Esther Roberton.
The public consultation on the bill closed on August 9.
