Former Supreme Court Judge says Baroness Carr's intervention over PMQs immigration case comments was 'mistake'
20 February 2025, 21:24
The former Supreme Court Justice Lord Sumption has told LBC Lady Chief Justice's intervention over PMQs immigration case comments was a "mistake".
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During PMQs last week, Sir Keir said a decision allowing a Palestinian family the right to remain in the UK after they applied through a scheme designed for Ukrainian refugees was "wrong".
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had got her team "working on closing this loophole".
Baroness Sue Carr said she was "deeply troubled to learn of the exchanges" between Sir Keir and Mrs Badenoch.
Now, Lord Sumption has described this as an "exceptional situation" that "should not have happened".
He told LBC that Baroness Carr's intervention was "probably a mistake".
Baroness Carr told reporters: "I think it started from a question from the Opposition suggesting that the decision in a certain case was wrong, and obviously the Prime Minister's response to that.
"Both question and the answer were unacceptable."It is for the Government visibly to respect and protect the independence of the judiciary.
"Where parties, including the Government, disagree with their findings, they should do so through the appellate process."
These comments sparked a backlash, including from senior Tories such as Michael Gove and Suella Barverman.
Read more: Senior Tories blast 'out of touch' judge for 'ludicrous attack' on Starmer’s migrant remarks
On Thursday evening, Lord Sumption told Iain Dale there is a convention that politicians "do not abuse judges for decisions they've made".
"They do not threaten them, they do not insult them.
"But it seems to me that to say in perfectly moderate language that a judge was wrong is a perfectly legitimate thing to do.
"If you were to open the pages of any law journal, you would find lots of case notes in which academics and lawyers are saying that this or that decision of the courts is wrong.
"Now, I find it very difficult to see why politicians should be the one category of person that isn't allowed to say that in their opinion a judge is wrong."
'Critically examined'
He went on: "Judges make decisions which are of considerable public importance, and it seems to me that they must expect their decisions to be examined and sometimes critically examined.
"I think it's quite important that judges should not be insulted for taking the view that they do about particular statutes or particular decisions.
"I think that that criticism should be expressed in moderate terms, but provided that that's satisfied, it seems to me that to criticise a judge is no more offensive than to criticise any other person in public life."
