Lord Hermer, the Attorney General, has often been criticised during his two years in the role. For his decision to authorise Lucy Connolly’s prosecution, his angry denials that two-tier justice exists, his ‘fanatical devotion to international law’, being ‘dangerously wrong about the ECHR’, an apparent dislike for the British state and its soldiers, and for ludicrous hyperbole such as when he claimed that critics of the ECHR want migrants to drown. It’s been easy to picture him as a sinister figure, using domestic and international law to serve his politics rather than the interests of his people.

We are cursed with senior public officials who are not up to the task.

We are cursed with senior public officials who are not up to the task.

But we have also been reminded this week that he is also, like much of our ruling class, a very silly and evidently incompetent man. For starters he published a bizarre video on his Instagram presenting ‘three reasons’ in favour of the ECHR –

Firstly, I believe that government protects people’s rights it doesn’t take them away from them. Secondly the rights in the ECHR are our rights, they’re fundamental rights, they’re your and our human rights. And thirdly. You know what, I think the world’s a better place when we come together with 45 other nations across the Europe (sic), united in our shared values[1].

It was an odd display. Presumably Hermer can think of more substantive arguments than this, so this performance must reflect what he thinks of the average voter. In any event, it was very unserious and did nothing for the dignity of Hermer’s person or his office.

Then on Friday we learned that the Attorney General has disgraced his office in a far more serious fashion. A judgment was published by the Court of Appeal, with Lady Carr of Walton-on-the Hill, the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, sitting alongside two other judges. It concerned the handling by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Attorney General of matters relating to the controversial case in........

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