Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the Attorney General fast-tracked the prosecution of Lucy Connolly in August 2024; and what reference he made to the Code for Crown Prosecutors to support that decision.
Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General
There were a number of similar prosecutions at the time which were responded to in the same manner and timeline. Between 9 and 14 August, the AG responded to 14 other applications for consent in similar matters. 11 of those had a decision within 24 hours, a similar timescale to that in which consent to prosecute was granted in respect of Lucy Connolly.
Certain offences require Law Officer consent to prosecute, and inciting racial hatred is one such offence. The Attorney General provided consent to the DPP to prosecute for this case under the Public Order Act 1986.
When providing consent, the Law Officers must be satisfied that the evidential test and the public interest test of the Code for Crown Prosecutors are met. This case and all similar cases were considered by reference to the test in the usual way.
When applying for consent, the CPS will independently provide an indication of proposed timescales for consent to be in place, and wherever possible the AGO will work to those.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Attorney General has recused himself from providing legal advice on the International Court of Justice's arrest warrant for Benjamin Netanyahu; and what declarations of interest, if any, have been made by the Attorney General about past representations about Israel.
Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General
The Law Officers’ Convention applies to advice which may or may not have been given by, or requested of, the Law Officers. It can be found at paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May:
“By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 6 November 2024]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”
Indicating whether or not the Law Officers have recused themselves from a particular matter would itself breach the Law Officers’ Convention.
However, the Attorney General’s Office has a rigorous process for identifying and dealing with conflicts and potential conflicts that arise from Law Officers’ former practice. As part of that process, the AGO adopts a cautious and beyond reproach threshold to any conflicts or potential conflicts. These arrangements are long-standing and part of a standard practice that has applied across successive Administrations.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether (1) the Attorney General's Office, and (2) the Government Legal Department, received a free portrait of the King as part of His Majesty The King’s Portrait Scheme.
Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General
In 2024 Public Bodies, including Government departments were able to request a free portrait of the King, for display in the department.
The Attorney General’s Office received a portrait through the Cabinet Office’s scheme. The Government Legal Department did not receive a portrait.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government what correspondence the Law Officers have had with Greta Thunberg since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General
The Law Officers have not had any such correspondence.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Levitt on 22 December 2025 (HL12744) and the then Prime Minister on 20 March 2024 (HC18492), whether the Attorney General considers (1) the European Court of Human Rights, and (2) the International Criminal Court, to be foreign courts.
Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and International Criminal Court (ICC) are international courts based respectively in France and the Netherlands. The UK is a State Party to both the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Rome Statute, the international treaties which established the ECtHR and ICC respectively. It is also a founding member of both instruments.
The Human Rights Act 1998 and the International Criminal Court Act 2001 give effect to the UK's obligations under the ECHR and Rome Statute. We respect the independence of both courts.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether white British people who are (1) working class, and (2) middle class, were able to apply for the Government Legal Profession's Diversity Summer Scheme 2025; and what is the proposed policy for applications to that scheme in 2026 and 2027.
Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General
The Government Legal Profession Summer Diversity Scheme provides valuable work experience to those under-represented in the legal profession. The scheme is open to candidates from a wide-range of backgrounds, providing they meet the eligibility criteria, including white British people. There are no plans to change this for the 2026 scheme.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many individuals have been (1) arrested, (2) charged, and (3) convicted, under (a) section 137 of the Highways Act 1980, (b) section 4A of the Public Order Act 1986, (c) section 5 of the Public Order Act 1986, (d) section 29B of the Public Order Act 1986, and (e) section 9(1) of the Public Order Act 2023, in each year since 2019.
Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General
Management information held by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) shows the number of offences in which a prosecution commenced that were finalised between 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2025.
| 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | 2023-2024 | 2024-2025 |
Highways Act 1980 { 137(1) } | 270 | 445 | 412 | 728 | 806 | 435 |
Public Order Act 1986 { 29B(1) and 29L(3) } | 6 | 11 | 15 | 19 | 31 | 30 |
Public Order Act 1986 { 4A(1) and (5) } | 10,490 | 10,349 | 12,212 | 11,029 | 11,161 | 11,876 |
Public Order Act 1986 { 5(1) and (6) } | 8,917 | 8,114 | 8,913 | 7,940 | 7,473 | 7,371 |
Public Order Act 2023 { 9(1) and (3) } | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Data Source: CPS Case Management Information System | ||||||
The figures relate to the number of offences and not the number of individual defendants. It can be the case that an individual defendant is charged with more than one offence against the same complainant. The CPS does not hold data showing the final outcome or if the charged offence was the substantive charge at finalisation.
Requests for data on arrests should be directed to the Home Office as the lead government department for the police.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had, if any, with the Crown Prosecution Service on responding to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in an informative and expeditious manner.
Answered by Lord Stewart of Dirleton
The Attorney General’s Office has not had any discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on responding to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000 in an informative and expeditious manner.
The CPS processes FOI requests independently and in accordance with the requirements of the FOIA 2000.