Jenrick pledges to sack judges accused of pro-migration activism
Robert Jenrick announced a sweeping crackdown on what he describes as “pro-migration bias” in the judiciary, vowing to remove so-called “activist” judges.
Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, claims to have identified more than 30 judges, both full-time and part-time, who previously volunteered for or provided free legal services to open-border organisations.
He told the crowd at the Conservative Party Conference that some of these judges have posted pro-open-border statements on social media, even after taking up their judicial appointments.
In a social media post, he stated that “it is now beyond any doubt that a deep rot has infected parts of our judiciary.”
The shadow minister quoted research conducted by his team. “Let me give you an example, before his appointment, Judge Simes volunteered for Bail for Immigration Detainees. Even after his appointment, he takes public positions on social media on illegal migration proposals, and he even advertises his judicial office to drum up business for his immigration advisory services,” Jenrick said in a video posted to X.
He also suggested that a future Tory government would introduce reforms enabling judges caught campaigning for open borders to be sacked, as well as returning the responsibility for appointing judges to the Lord Chancellor.
The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) was formally established on 3 April 2006, taking over the power to recommend senior judges for English and Welsh courts from the Lord Chancellor. Before that, the Lord Chancellor appointed judges on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and of their own call.
Pledge to scrape the Sentencing Council
He told The Telegraph that a judicial register of interests would be established, and that the Sentencing Council would be scrapped, with its powers also transferred to the Lord Chancellor, following controversy over its “two-tier justice” guidelines.
Earlier this year, the Sentencing Council suspended its plans to introduce those guidelines after former justice secretary Shabana Mahmood argued that they would result in “a clear example of differential treatment” and risked “undermining public confidence in a justice system that is built on the idea of equality before the law”.
Just last month, following the “two-tier justice” controversy, the justice secretary was granted the power to sign off on any new guidelines for prison sentences as part of a push for Parliament to have a say in the justice system.
As part of the Sentencing Bill, both the justice secretary, David Lammy, and the Lady chief justice will be given new powers, requiring them to approve any future guidelines before they can be issued.
Jenrick added that the UK should first leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), before “restoring confidence in the independence of the judiciary through wholesale changes to the way it operates”. This comes after the leader of the Conservatives, Kemi Badenoch, has pledged that if the party wins the next election, the UK will leave the ECHR.