Suella Braverman - Credibility Absent

How, the question keeps being asked, did alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson and his pals come to table the Polecat Enabling Act, more prosaically called the Internal Market Bill, given that it proposes breaking international law? And, more and more, the answer comes back to one politician - Suella Braverman.

Ms Braverman, previously known only for her clumsy exhumation of the anti-Semitic Nazi-era conspiracy theory of “Cultural Marxism”, was for some reason promoted to Attorney General earlier this year. She has said the bill is OK. However, as early as last Thursday, the Guardian noted that Scotland’s chef law officer disagreed.

“Legal advice contained in a three–page letter marked ‘official - sensitive’, seen by the Guardian, summarises the legal opinions of the government’s three law officers, whose role includes ensuring ministers act in accordance with the law. The letter appears to show that Richard Keen, the advocate general for Scotland, advised that ministers would be breaching the ministerial code if they defied international law”, they reported.

Then, at the weekend, it got worse. Ms Braverman attended the annual general meeting of the Bar Council yesterday. This time, it is the Guardian’s Sunday sister paper, the Observer, that has the news: “The attorney general … was on Saturday accused of sacrificing the UK’s reputation, sidelining legal advisers and bypassing the ministerial code during an extraordinary confrontation with some of the country’s top lawyers”.

And it got worse still: “Five QCs confronted the attorney general during Saturday’s meeting, telling her that a crime which broke the law in a ‘specific and limited way’ - the phrase used by the Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, when he announced the move - was still a crime”. Then came the real bombshell.

“She was also confronted over why she had sought advice on the measures from three pro-Brexit legal figures, including one junior barrister who had worked with the Vote Leave campaign, rather than relying on senior government lawyers. She refused to disclose the advice she had received, but said that seeking external opinions was not unusual”. It’s OK, because Vote Leave, who broke the law, say it’s OK. Ri-i-i-ight.

Small wonder two former Prime Ministers have sounded the alarm: John Major and Tony Blair, in a joint statement, warned of damage to the Good Friday accords and added “This has wide-ranging ramifications. It will not only make negotiation with the EU more difficult, but also any trade negotiations with other nations, including the United States. Once trust is undermined, distrust becomes prevalent”. See also the opinion of Speaker Pelosi.

Ms Braverman has most likely been appointed for one reason, and one alone: she can be bent to the will of chief Downing Street polecat Dominic Cummings and his Brexiteer pals who have ridden into Government on his and Bozo’s coat tails. She has, as part of thus bending, approved a bill that sprays the UK’s international credibility up the wall.

Problem is, that affects everyone else. Because it’s not a game. We have someone in the pilot’s seat that can’t fly the plane. You know what comes next. This will not end well.

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