Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government, with regard to reports that a former client of the Attorney General, Mahdi Al Harati, is bringing legal proceeding against them, what steps they have taken to avoid any conflicts of interest arising in this case.
Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General
It is an important legal principle, as confirmed by the Bar Council, that “barristers do not choose their clients, nor do they associate themselves with their clients’ opinions or behaviour by virtue of representing them”.
Law Officers, by their experience and professional nature have an extensive legal background and may have previously been involved in a wide number of past cases. That is why there is a robust system for considering and managing any conflicts that may arise, in line with the professional obligations of lawyers.
The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has an established and rigorous process for identifying and dealing with conflicts, and potential conflicts, that arise from the Law Officers’ past practice. That check will necessarily include consideration of matters in which a Law Officer was instructed before taking up their current role. That process sits against the backdrop of every lawyer’s professional obligation to be alert to, and actively manage, any situation that might give rise to a potential or actual conflict.
This rigorous process for identifying and managing conflicts sits alongside the system relating to ministerial interests, overseen by the Prime Minister’s Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards. Both the Director General of the AGO and the Independent Adviser were provided with the Attorney General’s list of conflicts following his appointment.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have paid compensation to (1) individuals who were perpetrators of terrorist activities, and (2) family members of those who were perpetrators of terrorist activities, in the last five years for which figures are available; and if so, (a) how much compensation they have paid in each category, and (b) how many such claims have been lodged seeking settlement.
Answered by Lord Stewart of Dirleton
The Government Legal Department is presently acting on behalf of His Majesty’s Government in seven claims that have been filed in the courts of England and Wales in the last five years, by individuals involved in or accused of terrorist activities seeking compensation. His Majesty’s Government have reached settlement in relation to cases in the Courts of England and Wales with perpetrators of terrorist activities, and family members of such individuals, within the last five years – but the terms of those settlements are subject to strict confidentiality agreements about both the terms of settlement and the amount of compensation paid, if any. |
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they have sought legal advice or consulted the Law Officers regarding the budget passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly on 15 June.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The Government is monitoring developments in relation to the finances of the Northern Ireland Executive closely. By long-standing convention, observed by successive administrations and embodied in the Ministerial Code, the fact that the Law Officers may or may not have advised or have been requested to advise on a particular issue, and the content of any advice, is not disclosed outside government.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Office of the Attorney General has any records of royal pardons granted between 1987 and 1997.
Answered by Lord Wallace of Tankerness
The Attorney General has no formal role in the issue of Royal Pardons and therefore there are no records of Royal Pardons held by the Attorney General's Office.