THE ATTORNEY General praised eco activists as “frankly inspiring” while Britain was in the group of crippling Just Stop Oil protests, The Sun on Sunday can reveal.
Lord Hermer also appeared to question if a new law and order crackdown on zealots like Extinction Rebellion was needed.
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The explosive comments pile yet more pressure on the Cabinet minister, who has come under fire for representing Gerry Adams and terrorists while working as a lawyer.
Lord Hermer – a close friend of PM Sir Keir Starmer – spoke out about eco protesters in a podcast he hosted at his then legal firm Matrix in 2023.
He said: “I’m going to give a slightly more optimistic take and that’s actually drawn from some of these protests themselves in which we are seeing so many people, particularly young people, so concerned about the future of the planet for all of us that they are willing to come out in their numbers and onto the streets and demonstrate in the way that they do.
“And that is frankly inspiring.
“And it’s a hope that whatever this Government might be seeking to do to our international reputation – and it is having a pretty good go at trashing it – there is some hope in the future.”
His comments were made in a discussion about the Public Order Bill 2023 – a law and order crackdown designed to stop eco fanatics blocking roads and shutting down Britain.
The law made locking on a criminal offence. This is when protesters physically lock themselves to each other or a building or object so police cannot move them.
The hardline tactic was commonly used by Just Stop Oil and XR – delaying ambulances on 999 call outs and causing misery for commuters and Brits going about their daily lives.
During the podcast discussion with a human rights lawyer from Liberty, Lord Hermer appears to suggest that it was heavy handed to make “locking on” a new criminal offence.
He asked: “Is there anything objectionable per se if you are locking yourself to somebody and closing down the M25?
“It might strike people as objectionable, that’s criminalised.”
Tory shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said: “Every day Lord Hermer shows why he’s unfit to serve in Government.
“It’s crazy that the man tasked with upholding the law celebrated eco protests when Just Stop Oil and Extinction Rebellion were flagrantly breaking the law at their protests.”
An ally of Lord Hermer said he was categorically not endorsing any criminal behaviour but making a general statement about peaceful protests.
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