Starmer’s attorney general in row over Chagos refugees
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Lord Hermer has faced questions over the government’s decision to open the door to potential compensation for imprisoning another of his clients Gerry Adams, during the Troubles. The attorney general is embroiled in a fresh row after it emerged asylum seekers he represented as a lawyer were granted a "one-off " deal to come to Britain from the Chagos Islands months after he joined the government.
![[Attorney General Richard Hermer arriving in Downing Street for a Cabinet meeting]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/03/09/ad89bdca-2749-4900-8c97-17d1766c53cb.jpg)
Lord Hermer unsuccessfully took the UK government to court in 2023 on behalf of five Sri Lankan asylum seekers. The group, along with dozens more, had washed on the British-American base on the islands. Their case was dismissed by the High Court but after Labour came to power a "one-off " agreement allowed all 61 to come to Britain.
![[Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary,]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/15/12/77956f8d-152a-4e7f-8d0d-7bf2705b5f0f.jpg)
Now Lord Hermer has been urged to ”come clean" about whether or not he had recused himself from any involvement in the decision. Robert Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, said there was "a clear pattern" of Labour "making contentious decisions against the national interest that benefit the attorney general’s former clients".
He added: "The public will be asking where his loyalties lie. It is unacceptable for the government to hide behind convention and decline to confirm whether our chief legal adviser was involved in a decision about asylum seekers he had recently represented in court against His Majesty’s Government.
"The attorney general cannot lecture about the rule of law while dodging fundamental questions about conflicts of interest. He must now urgently come clean and explain to the British public whether he was involved in these decisions in government, or his position is untenable.".
