Gina Miller calls for Attorney General to resign over Brexit advice
12 September 2020, 13:30
Gina Miller calls for attorney general to resign
Businesswoman and campaigner Gina Miller has called for Attorney General Suella Braverman to resign over a “laughable” legal statement regarding the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement.
On Thursday, the government released a statement on the legality of Boris Johnson’s highly contentious move to override parts of the Brexit agreement signed in December.
Speaking on LBC, Ms Miller said: "The Attorney General in her advice is conflating two issues. Yes, Parliament is sovereign, that is what my case in 2017 decided, but that is not to say that the UK does not abide by international law, the two things are conflated and different."
Asked by Matt Frei whether Ms Braveman was up to the job, Ms Miller said: "No in fact, because looking at this A4 one-sided page of legal advice, which is so incorrect, I think she should resign."
“It was so, almost laughable, the legal advice. Not just that for such an important issue it was just one page, but she quoted my case. But the thing is in that quote she said it was a unanimous judgement, it wasn't. It is a schoolboy error."
“It was a unanimous case in the 2019 case, not the 2017 case. That is how trivial this advice is, and how intellectually dishonest."
The businesswoman’s interventions come after the Prime Minister used a conference call with 250 Conservative MPs to warn against a return to the "miserable, squabbling days of last autumn".
He is working to quell a plan to amend the legislation from senior Tories who are incensed that the plan will break international law.
Ms Miller said: “MPs should be reading this bill very carefully and voting with their conscience.”
She believes the government mentioning her case in the legal judgement was “was red meat for some Brexiteers” and explained this had resulted in abuse against her reaching similar levels to “three or four years ago."
“What I find very upsetting is with what the government did, what Ms Braverman has done, in using me as red meat.
“The abuse that has started over the last 24 hours or so. My office has been inundated with abusive calls and the death threats have started all over again.
“What have they got to say to my children if anything should happen to me? It will be on their conscience and I think it would be despicable.”
She also revealed that a GoFundMe page had been set up “for £10,000 to hire a hitman to kill me.”
In July, the man who set up the crowdfunder, Barry Aslam, pleaded guilty to “sending a letter causing anxiety/distress” and was given a 26-week suspended sentence and ordered to pay £200 compensation.
“£200 for five months of a page offering £10,000 to hire a hitman. It is absolutely outrageous," Ms Miller told LBC.
"The law needs to be changed and I really am going to push forward this calling for an online harms bill.”
