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Following the government's decision this week to legislate in violation of its international treaty obligation under the Withdrawal Agreement, the Guardian reported yesterday that a “three–page letter sent from the attorney general’s office” ... /1
Following the government's decision this week to legislate in violation of its international treaty obligation under the Withdrawal Agreement, the Guardian reported yesterday that a “three–page letter sent from the attorney general’s office” ... /1
“reveals that an opinion had been submitted on 10 August by Guglielmo Verdirame QC, a professor of international law at King’s College London; Prof Richard Ekins, of Oxford University; & a more junior barrister, Richard Howell, of Brick Court Chambers”.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/sep/10/governments-top-legal-advisers-divided-over-move-to-override-brexit-deal /2
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/sep/10/governments-top-legal-advisers-divided-over-move-to-override-brexit-deal /2
Some brief notes on the expert legal authors of this 'opinion':
Prof Richard Ekins is Head of Policy Exchange’s Judicial Power Project.
https://policyexchange.org.uk/author/richard-ekins/
Following the Supreme Court's unanimous decision on the illegality of the government's prorogation of parliament, /3
Prof Richard Ekins is Head of Policy Exchange’s Judicial Power Project.
https://policyexchange.org.uk/author/richard-ekins/
Following the Supreme Court's unanimous decision on the illegality of the government's prorogation of parliament, /3
Ekins attacked the judgement in the Mail, writing that judgment was “a milestone in a wider trend, in which those who lose out in the political process attempt to secure political advantage in the courts.”.
https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/prorogation-ruling-sparks-new-war-on-the-judiciary/5101564.article
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https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/prorogation-ruling-sparks-new-war-on-the-judiciary/5101564.article
/4
Policy Exchance is a right of centre think tank, closely associated with Brexit.
Prod Ekins and Prof Verdirame are co-authors of a paper published by Policy Exchange, A Second Look The UK’s legal position in relation to the backstop .
https://policyexchange.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/A-Second-Look.pdf
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Prod Ekins and Prof Verdirame are co-authors of a paper published by Policy Exchange, A Second Look The UK’s legal position in relation to the backstop .
https://policyexchange.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/A-Second-Look.pdf
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Ekins wrote about this paper in an article for the Conservative Home website:
https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2019/03/richard-ekins-the-real-meaning-of-coxs-advice-there-is-only-a-theoretical-risk-of-being-trapped-in-the-backstop.html
Guglielmo Verdirame has a profile page on the website of Policy Exchange. He is co-author, with Ekins, of a policy paper published by Policy Exchange entitled...
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https://www.conservativehome.com/platform/2019/03/richard-ekins-the-real-meaning-of-coxs-advice-there-is-only-a-theoretical-risk-of-being-trapped-in-the-backstop.html
Guglielmo Verdirame has a profile page on the website of Policy Exchange. He is co-author, with Ekins, of a policy paper published by Policy Exchange entitled...
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“Strengthening the UK’s position on the Backstop”.
He is co-author, with Sir Steven Laws and Richard Ekins, of another policy paper published by Policy Exchange entitled: “How to Exit the Backstop”. (Laws is a Senior Fellow of the Policy Exchange's Judicial Power Project).
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He is co-author, with Sir Steven Laws and Richard Ekins, of another policy paper published by Policy Exchange entitled: “How to Exit the Backstop”. (Laws is a Senior Fellow of the Policy Exchange's Judicial Power Project).
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https://policyexchange.org.uk/author/guglielmo-verdirame/
https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/strengthening-the-uks-position-on-the-backstop/
https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/how-to-exit-the-backstop/
Jo Maugham QC has described the Judicial Power Project as “an ugly, dark-funded project to undermine one of the last controls of executive power”.
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https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/strengthening-the-uks-position-on-the-backstop/
https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/how-to-exit-the-backstop/
Jo Maugham QC has described the Judicial Power Project as “an ugly, dark-funded project to undermine one of the last controls of executive power”.
/8
The “more junior barrister” mentioned by the Guardian as a co-author of expert advice to the AG's office, Richard Howell, features in a report by Mia Jankowicz in The New European entitled “Legal experts want to know why Dominic Cummings’ pal sat on Supreme Court legal team”
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... which in turn cites a report by Luke Barr in The Lawyer entitled “Exclusive: Attorney General ignored panel barristers to bring in Cummings aide as junior counsel on Miller 2”. (The Attorney-General at this time was Geoffrey Cox.)
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The reports note that Howell “is a former Vote Leave policy analyst where he worked closely with then-campaign director Dominic Cummings. ”; “Howell features in Dominic Cummings' blog as "Ricardo", one of several people to whom Cummings attributes Vote Leave's success. /11
In a submission to the Electoral Commission, Vote Leave described Howell as a "committed opponent of the UK's membership of the EU".
Regarding what the Guardian terms Howell's “more junior” status, the Lawyer is cited by The New European as commenting that....
/12
Regarding what the Guardian terms Howell's “more junior” status, the Lawyer is cited by The New European as commenting that....
/12
at the time of the Supreme Court prorogation case, “Barrister Richard Howell was taken onto the government's legal team for the landmark case before he had even completed his pupillage ”.
https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/top-stories/richard-howell-of-vote-leave-on-supreme-court-case-1-6298585
https://www.thelawyer.com/exclusive-attorney-general-ignored-panel-barristers-to-bring-in-cummings-aide-as-junior-counsel-on-miller-2/
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https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/top-stories/richard-howell-of-vote-leave-on-supreme-court-case-1-6298585
https://www.thelawyer.com/exclusive-attorney-general-ignored-panel-barristers-to-bring-in-cummings-aide-as-junior-counsel-on-miller-2/
/13
Suella Braverman's official choices of impartial legal expertise are exactly those that one might expect under the Cummings regime. She was of course appointed to her post – in the face of widespread public incredulity - because she holds the same views as these advisors.
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Cummings' own views on international legal obligations are well known:
“Also, don’t worry about the so-called ‘permanent’ commitments this historically abysmal Cabinet are trying to make on our behalf. They are not ‘permanent’ and a serious government — ...
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“Also, don’t worry about the so-called ‘permanent’ commitments this historically abysmal Cabinet are trying to make on our behalf. They are not ‘permanent’ and a serious government — ...
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... one not cowed by officials and their bullshit ‘legal advice’ with which they have herded ministers like sheep — will dispense with these commitments and any domestic law enforcing them.”
https://www.thearticle.com/the-complete-works-of-dominic-cummings-an-exploration
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https://www.thearticle.com/the-complete-works-of-dominic-cummings-an-exploration
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In government legal advice procurement, as in government COVID-19 IT, data and PPE procurement, these days it's a small world.
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