Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government what correspondence the Law Officers have had with Greta Thunberg since 4 July 2024.
Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General
The Law Officers have not had any such correspondence.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Levitt on 22 December 2025 (HL12744) and the then Prime Minister on 20 March 2024 (HC18492), whether the Attorney General considers (1) the European Court of Human Rights, and (2) the International Criminal Court, to be foreign courts.
Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and International Criminal Court (ICC) are international courts based respectively in France and the Netherlands. The UK is a State Party to both the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and the Rome Statute, the international treaties which established the ECtHR and ICC respectively. It is also a founding member of both instruments.
The Human Rights Act 1998 and the International Criminal Court Act 2001 give effect to the UK's obligations under the ECHR and Rome Statute. We respect the independence of both courts.
Asked by: Lloyd Hatton (Labour - South Dorset)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, whether the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has any formal policies or guidance aimed at preventing potential retaliation against whistleblowers who report wrongdoing to the SFO; and whether consideration has been given to developing structural protections against retaliation for whistleblowers following the government's Anti-Corruption Strategy launch event in December 2025.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The SFO has well established formal policies and guidance aimed at protecting whistleblowers who report allegations of criminality. All whistleblowers who report to the SFO are dealt with by appropriately trained, nationally NPCC accredited members of staff whose role is to engage with whistleblowers and understand what is required to protect these people from retaliation or harm of any kind. The SFOs whistleblowing handling processes have also been fully reviewed and strengthened over the past year to ensure that all reports continue to be handled in accordance with national guidance.
The Government’s recently published Anti-Corruption Strategy commits to explore opportunities to reform the UK’s approach to whistleblowing in the employment context.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what assessment she has made of the levels of paid ad spoofing in the no win no fee sector.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
It is not possible to identify where prosecutions of fraud are specifically related to paid ad spoofing in the no win no fee sector, as this would require manual checks at a cost disproportionate to the public interest.
In the 12 months ending June 2025, the CPS prosecuted 7,446 defendants, where Fraud and Forgery was the principal offence. In the same period, the CPS charged 77.3% of all Fraud and Forgery category cases that were referred to it by law enforcement and maintained a consistent conviction rate of 86.5%.
Asked by: Mark Pritchard (Conservative - The Wrekin)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what steps she is taking to support the prosecution of (a) individuals who post comments online about defendants prior to trial which could prejudice legal proceedings, and (b) the tech platforms on which those comments are published.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Contempt of Court Act 1981 is clear that publishing information that creates a substantial risk of serious prejudice or impediment to any active proceedings can be contempt of court. These rules and restrictions are in place to ensure that trials are fair and justice is delivered.
The Government recognises that social media is putting these long-established rules under strain especially in cases where partial or inaccurate information appears online. This is why we asked the Law Commission to expedite part of their review on contempt of court. In November 2025, the Law Commission published part 1 of their report setting out recommendations for a new framework of contempt liability. The Government is considering their recommendations.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, how many civil servants employed by their Department work in roles primarily focused on (a) transgender policy, (b) diversity, (c) equity and (d) inclusion; and at what annual salary cost.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The AGO does not employ any Civil Servants whose role primarily focusses on (a) transgender policy, (b) diversity, (c) equity and (d) inclusion.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Independent - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, what the cost to the public purse was of feasibility studies conducted by their Department for projects that did not proceed in the last five years.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Attorney General’s Office has not conducted any feasibility studies within the time period, as such there has been no cost to the public purse.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether white British people who are (1) working class, and (2) middle class, were able to apply for the Government Legal Profession's Diversity Summer Scheme 2025; and what is the proposed policy for applications to that scheme in 2026 and 2027.
Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General
The Government Legal Profession Summer Diversity Scheme provides valuable work experience to those under-represented in the legal profession. The scheme is open to candidates from a wide-range of backgrounds, providing they meet the eligibility criteria, including white British people. There are no plans to change this for the 2026 scheme.
Asked by: Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative - Solihull West and Shirley)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, pursuant to the Answer of 13 January to Question 103029, on Crown Prosecution Service: Vacancies, how the vacancy rate for Crown Prosecutors as of the end of December 2025 compares the preceding five years, broken down by region.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The overall vacancy rate for ‘Crown Prosecutors’ across the 14 regional, geographic areas that make up the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is 4.5% (at the end of December 2025). The table below includes the regional breakdown for CPS vacancy rates applicable to these legal roles for December 2025 against the three preceding years only*.
Area | Dec-22 | Dec-23 | Dec-24 | Dec-25 |
Cymru Wales | 10.3% | 6.0% | 2.4% | 7.0% |
East of England | 10.7% | 6.0% | 6.1% | 3.9% |
East Midlands | 14.9% | 8.8% | 4.0% | 8.6% |
London North | 1.5% | 0.4% | 0.9% | 9.0% |
London South | 6.1% | 4.7% | 0.4% | -3.9% |
Mersey Cheshire | 5.4% | 9.5% | -0.9% | 2.6% |
North East | 12.1% | 5.2% | 6.1% | 15.4% |
North West | 10.2% | 1.7% | 5.7% | -3.4% |
South East | 4.5% | 1.8% | -1.2% | 3.8% |
South West | 7.7% | 14.1% | 0.7% | -0.1% |
Thames and Chiltern | 7.5% | 8.8% | 7.4% | 11.5% |
Wessex | 10.0% | 5.5% | 4.8% | 1.3% |
West Midlands | 17.2% | 7.3% | 1.4% | 6.9% |
Yorkshire and Humberside | 12.8% | 5.0% | 4.7% | 4.0% |
14 Geographic Areas | 9.5% | 5.6% | 3.0% | 4.5% |
*The CPS does not hold information on vacancy rates dating back five years and has therefore provided the three years preceding December 2025 only.
Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Goole and Pocklington)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, by how much they plan to reduce their Department's budget to help fund the digital ID scheme.
Answered by Ellie Reeves - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Digital Identity policy is in development, with a dedicated team inside the Cabinet Office working to develop the proposals.
Costs in this Spending Review period will be met within the existing Spending Review settlements.
We are inviting the public to have their say in the upcoming consultation as we develop a safe, secure, and inclusive system for the UK. No final decisions will be made until after the consultation.