Justice secretary Liz Truss belatedly spoke in defence of high court judges who were branded ‘enemies of the people’ by one newspaper

Theresa May and her justice secretary, Liz Truss, have been forced to defend the three high court judges who made the controversial high court judgment about Brexit in the face of days of public backlash.

Truss, whose silence on Friday as criticism of the judgment intensified had infuriated senior lawyers, issued a public statement on Saturday night defending the integrity of the lord chief justice, who had been accused by former Ukip leader Nigel Farage of being a pro-EU activist.

“The lord chief justice is a man of great integrity and impartiality. Like all judges, he has sworn an oath to administer the law without fear or favour, affection or ill will,” Truss said.

Separately, Theresa May, speaking to reporters on her way to Delhi for a trade mission on Sunday, defended the right of the judges to issue their ruling, but would not condemn the media backlash over the issue.

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Asked about the controversial reaction to the ruling in which the judges were branded as the “enemies of the people” in coverage from pro-Brexit newspapers, the prime minister said: “I believe in and value the independence of our judiciary, I also value the freedom of our press. These both underpin our democracy.”

The prime minister also said her government was determined that its appeal to the supreme court would force the ruling, which prevents the formal process of exiting the EU from beginning without a vote in the Commons and the Lords, to be overturned.

Truss, whose role as lord chancellor means she must uphold the independence of the judiciary, was responding to comments by Farage, who told the BBC’s Marr on Sunday show that he believed the lord chief justice, Lord Thomas, should have recused himself from the case.

Farage highlighted the lord chief justice’s involvement in the European Law Institute, which seeks to harmonise EU legislation.

“Surely with that background he should have absented himself from this particular case?” he said, adding, “I’m afraid that the reach of the EU into the upper echelons of society in this country makes it quite difficult for us to trust the judgments.”

The prime minister hopes to use her visit to India to show that Britain can strike up new lucrative economic relationships with countries outside the EU after Brexit.

But back in Britain, the highly charged debate over the impact of the court’s decision intensified, with Farage suggesting any attempt by MPs to soften Brexit could unleash a wave of public anger that could spill onto the streets.

Farage, who is acting as interim Ukip leader while his party goes through its second leadership race since the summer, said: “If the people in this country think that they’re going to be cheated, that they’re going to be betrayed, then we will see political anger the likes of which none of us in our lifetimes have ever witnessed in this country. Those newspaper headlines are reflecting that.”

Asked on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday whether he thought that could mean “disturbances” on the streets if parliament seeks to water down the result of the referendum, he said: “I think that’s right,” adding: “the temperature of this is very, very high.” He appeared on the programme alongside Gina Miller, the businesswoman who led the high court challenge.



Meanwhile Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn made clear that his party would not vote against a bill implementing article 50, after his insistence that he would welcome an early general election was interpreted as a threat to try to force the government to accept his red lines on Brexit, including safeguards for workers’ rights.

Instead, Corbyn said he would press for “transparency and accountability” about the government’s aims in the two-year negotiation process. However, senior Liberal Democrats, including Nick Clegg, have suggested they could try to use the parliamentary process to block Brexit altogether.

May condemned that idea, saying: “The people spoke on 23 June,” insisting there would be no compromise on her position that free movement was a red line in any post-Brexit deal.

“The people spoke on the 23 June and an important aspect that underpinned people’s approach to that was a concern about control of movement of people from the EU into the UK. I believe it is important for the UK government to deliver on that.”

Brexit secretary David Davis is expected to use a statement to the House of Commons on Monday to reiterate the government’s determination to appeal to the supreme court, and stick to its timetable of triggering article 50 by the end of March.

The prime minister highlighted the fact that a similar legal case in Belfast had resulted in an opposite ruling. “In terms of the legal situation we’ve had two court cases in the UK, they’ve come out with different decisions. The Northern Irish court found in favour of the government, the high court found against the government.

“We think we have strong legal arguments and will be taking those arguments to the supreme court,” she said. “What’s important for MPs and peers is to recognise that parliament voted to give the decision on our membership of the European Union to the people on 23 June. A majority voted and we should now deliver.”



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Some Conservatives had reacted angrily to the tone of some of the coverage of the judgment, in which the justices involved were singled out as, “enemies of the people”. Former attorney-general Dominic Grieve said some of the headlines had made him feel as though he was in “Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe”.

Truss had issued a general statement on Saturday defending the legitimacy of the legal system, after communities secretary Sajid Javid had accused the high court of trying to “thwart the will of the people”.

Former Conservative minister Lord Patten condemned Javid yesterday, saying on ITV’s Peston on Sunday that the Bromsgrove MP should have been “out on his ear” for making the comments.

“We actually need to behave more decently to one another and with a great deal more respect,” he said, adding: “it is for Theresa May to give that sort of leadership.”