New Attorney General will lead fight with courts

‘Repatriated powers from the EU will mean little if our courts continue to act as political decisionmaker’

A BARRISTER who has said that the courts should stay out of politics has been appointed as the Government’s most senior lawyer amid Boris Johnson’s growing battle with the judiciary.

Suella Braverman, a former leader of backbench Tory Eurosceptics, replaced Geoffrey Cox as Attorney General in a Cabinet reshuffle in which the Prime Minister rewarded loyalists and sacked those who defied him.

Other promotions included Oliver Dowden, from Cabinet Office minister to Culture Secretary, and Anne-marie Trevelyan, the former defence minister and Johnson ally who takes over as International Development Secretary.

Alok Sharma, the former international development secretary, was given the plum role of organising the November’s COP26 United Nations Climate Change conference in November as well as Business Secretary.

The appointment of Mrs Braverman, a Cambridge law graduate, will set off alarm bells for judges after she said Parliament must “retrace power ceded to the courts” in an article last month.

She wrote: “Repatriated powers from the EU will mean precious little if our courts continue to act as political decision-maker, pronouncing on what the law ought to be and supplanting parliament. Traditionally, parliament made the law and judges applied it. But today, our courts exercise a form of political power.” She also said that while the Human Rights Act was “noble”, the concept “has been stretched beyond recognition”.

Overall Mr Johnson cut the number of Cabinet ministers from 31 to 26, by slashing the number of junior minis- ters who can attend from nine to four – Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Leader of the House of Commons, Chief Whip and Attorney General.

Other ministers representing housing, northern powerhouse, business and environment, and the paymaster general, lost their right to attend.

The reshuffle fell short of the predicted merger of the Foreign Office and international development departments, although four ministers were appointed to roles in both departments: James Cleverly, the former party chairman; Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park; Baroness Sugg; and Nigel Adams, the former culture minister. Lord Goldsmith was given a third role as minister in the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Nine ministers were given new Cabinet roles. Rishi Sunak replaced Sajid Javid, who quit after being asked to sack five of his special advisers. George Eustice was promoted to Environment Secretary while Amanda Milling, a former whip, was made party chairman. Steve Barclay, the former Brexit secretary, was made Chief Secretary to the Treasury, and will attend Cabinet.

Ministers who clashed with Mr Johnson or defied him were fired in a move which one Tory source showed Mr Johnson was “a jealous god”.

Julian Smith was sacked as Northern Ireland secretary amid claims that he had left Mr Johnson blindsided over a risk of more prosecutions to veterans, and clashes over Brexit. He was replaced by Brandon Lewis, the former Home Office minister.

Andrea Leadsom, who once challenged Theresa May for the party leadership, was sacked days after warning the Prime Minister not to fire female ministers.

Esther Mcvey was sacked as housing minister amid concerns about meeting the Government’s housing target and after a well-publicised spat with Johnson ally Robert Jenrick.

Ms Mcvey was replaced by Chris Pincher, the former Foreign Office minister, making him the 10th housing minister in the past decade.

Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, held on to his job despite overnight reports that he could be sacked. No10 had briefed on Wednesday that he was being replaced by Andrew Murrison, a Foreign Office minister. However, Mr Murrison was then sacked in a 8.30am phone call by Mr Johnson yesterday.

At the Department for Transport, Grant Shapps stayed on, but lost two of his junior ministers, George Freeman and Nusrat Ghani, who had been tipped to be new HS2 minister.

There was a return to the Government for Penny Mordaunt as new Paymaster General and James Brokenshire as Home Office minister, while Jeremy Quin was made defence minister.

Helen Whately has been made minister of state in the Department of Health and Social Care and Chloe Smith is promoted to Cabinet Office minister.