Kemi Badenoch has questioned whether the Government’s top legal adviser believes in the UK and “everything we stand for”.
The Conservative Party leader raised doubts about the suitability of Lord Hermer as Attorney General during her weekly clash with Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions.
Mrs Badenoch initially expressed concerns about a court decision to grant a Palestinian family the right to live in the UK following an appeal, after they applied to enter the country through a scheme designed for Ukrainian refugees.
The family of six, including a mother, father and their four children, were displaced when their home in the Gaza Strip was destroyed by an air strike in the Israel-Hamas war.
I asked the Prime Minister to appeal this crazy court decision that allows people from Gaza to use the Ukrainian Family scheme.
He repeatedly REFUSED to say whether the govt had or would. This sets a bad precedent -legalism before national interest.
He is a lawyer not a leader. https://t.co/2MZRfcLYWR
— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) February 12, 2025
Prime Minister Sir Keir pledged to close the “legal loophole” and described the decision as “wrong” in response to questions from Mrs Badenoch.
In her final remarks, Mrs Badenoch took aim at Lord Hermer who in recent weeks has faced questions about how his previous work – including representing former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams – could result in possible conflicts of interest in his Government work.
Lord Hermer last month said he has recused himself from advising ministers on “certain matters” but could not give details as he was bound by convention.
Speaking at PMQs, Mrs Badenoch told the Commons: “I thought that the Prime Minister and I both agreed that Israel had a right to defend herself. Yet the judge in this case noted that the family were facing a humanitarian crisis, and I quote, as a consequence of the Israeli government’s indiscriminate attempts to eliminate Hamas and Government lawyers accepted this.
“Is the Prime Minister allowing lawyers to change the position on Israel and was this because of advice from the Attorney General and, if not, why on earth did Government lawyers accept the argument that Israeli actions were indiscriminate?”
Sir Keir replied: “They put the complete opposite argument. She talks about being on top of her brief – she has no idea what she’s talking about.”
Mrs Badenoch suggested Sir Keir had “not read the judgment”, adding: “There are very serious questions now being asked about the Attorney General, the Prime Minister’s personal friend and donor.”
Mrs Badenoch highlighted comments from Labour peer Lord Glasman, who told the New Statesman that Lord Hermer has “got to go”.
Mrs Badenoch said: “If we are serious about protecting our borders, we need to make sure we appoint people who believe in our country and everything we stand for. It is not clear the Attorney General does.
“The Government is now recruiting a new chief inspector of borders who lives in Finland and wants to work from home. This is not serious. Why should the British public put up with this?”
Sir Keir replied: “The individual in question was appointed in 2019 by the last government to a senior position. He then worked for five years from Finland.
“We’ve changed that and he’s now going to be working from the United Kingdom full-time.”
He added: “She talks about the Attorney General, she sat round the cabinet table with an attorney who was later sacked for breaching national security.”