Roger Smith muses on a potentially uneasy celebration for the lord chancellor
These days, lord chancellors have to front the marketing drive of the legal profession in the global economy. Thus, the Law Society, Bar, and other members of a legal consortium were faced with Chris Grayling leading their announcement of a Global Law Summit. This is intended to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the signing of Magna Carta and provide an opportunity for UK lawyers to display their wares. The lord chancellor duly went through the motions, clearly aware that the great charter of English liberty represented a bit of a trap for a minister currently in the process of trying to slash legal aid and cut back judicial review.
Grayling’s sensitivity to comparison with tyrants down the ages from King John onward was evident in his Daily Mail article last month where he announced his assault on judicial review. He mused: “I will no doubt be accused of killing justice and destroying Magna Carta.” With uncharacteristic diffidence, he added “I’m not sure that argument stacks up.” Grayling’s
