Asked by: Lord Wolfson of Tredegar (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask His Majesty's Government on what date the Attorney General first provided the Prime Minister with legal advice in response to the commencement of Operation Epic Fury by the United States of America; and whether the Attorney General provided additional legal advice on this topic to the Prime Minister on 1 March.
Answered by Lord Hermer - Attorney General
The Law Officers’ Convention applies to advice which may or may not have been given by the Law Officers, or requested of the Law Officers, and the Convention applies to your question.
The Law Officers’ Convention can be found at paragraph 21.27 of Erskine May:
“By long-standing convention, observed by successive Governments, the fact of, and substance of advice from, the law officers of the Crown is not disclosed outside government. This convention is referred to in paragraph [5.14] of the Ministerial Code [updated on 6 November 2024]. The purpose of this convention is to enable the Government to obtain frank and full legal advice in confidence.”