Did angry judges snub Truss over Brexit row?

Margaret thatcher was famously snubbed by Oxford University, which refused to offer her an honorary degree in protest against the government’s cuts in funding for education.

Has Justice Secretary Liz truss been similarly publicly rebuffed? truss was due to be made an honorary ‘Bencher’ of Lincoln’s Inn last thursday, but the ceremony was called off.

truss, 41, took office in July despite having no legal experience and became the first female Lord Chancellor in the 1,000-year history of the role.

Lincoln’s Inn had a change of heart, I am told, about making her an honorary Bencher after some senior members — the so-called Benchers — protested that truss didn’t do enough to stand up for the judiciary following this month’s controversial High Court ruling that theresa May can only trigger the process for leaving the european Union via a vote in Parliament.

the decision of the three judges was roundly condemned by Brexiteers and criticised by Communities Secretary Sajid Javid as ‘frustrating the will of the people’.

‘there was horror particularly among the judges over Liz truss’s failure to come to the defence of the High Court judges,’ says my man at Lincoln’s Inn.

the Ministry of Justice confirms the ceremony ‘has been postponed’ and says no alternative date has been fixed. When asked why it was put back, a spokesman for Lincoln’s Inn says: ‘the Inn is a private organisation and it is not our policy to comment on such matters.’

asked subsequently if the honour had been withdrawn, a spokeswoman said that was ‘inaccurate’, but she would not comment on the suggestion that the ceremony had been postponed at the behest of some angry Benchers.

Lincoln’s Inn Benchers are the governing body who have power to call students to the Bar and they can expel any member or disbench one of their own number.

among its 314 Benchers are Lord Justice Sales , one of the three judges who made this month’s ruling, Cherie Booth QC and Lord Neuberger, president of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom .

Lord Neuberger is one of 11 Supreme Court judges who will sit next month to give their verdict on the government’s appeal against the earlier ruling.