.The big dEE .

25.1.25

LONDON: It should remain a secret whether the government’s top legal advisor has advised on matters involving his former clients, labour mp and solicitor general Lucy Rigby told the house of commons on Thursday.

The attorney general lord Hemer has represented politically controversial clients in court, but it is unknown if he advises the government on cases involving those people or has declared himself unable to due to a conflict of interest.

Rigby said it was nobody’s business because the government-written ministerial code instructs legal advisors to keep their counsel secret.

The ministerial code is not law and every new government has the privilege of writing its own code.

“The law officers’ convention is an important principle … that preserves the ability of government to receive full and frank legal advice from their legal advisers in confidence. I am therefore unable to comment on the specific details of legal advice provided by the law officers,” said Rigby.

“I understand that the solicitor general wants to maintain the confidentiality of the law officers’ office, but the issue before us is whether there is a conflict of interest … every aspect of transparency and democracy requires that the advice given by the attorney general to the government is impartial, correct and not prejudiced,” offered conservative mp Bob Blackman.

“Does the minister accept that the law officers’ convention does not extend to questions of recusal or conflicts of interest, and that the house and the british people have the right to have questions on those matters answered transparently?” said conservative mp Harriet Cross.

“The honorable member will know that the law officers’ convention means that I cannot confirm that the attorney general has advised or whether his advice has been sought on any matter … I do not accept that the law officers’ convention is being extended at all,” Rigby replied.

Great faith in westminster’s entrenched culture of secrecy was shown by labour mp Tony Vaughan. “Does the solicitor general agree with me that the law officers’ convention and existing processes, which, as she says, have been in place for many years under successive governments, can be left to regulate conflicts of interest, as they always have done?”

So, whatever the attorney general has or has not said to the government is not something citizens have any right to know.