Keir Starmer faces ‘King John’ jibe from law chief over credit for rioters’ swift sentences

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Keir Starmer appeared to be likened to one of England’s most notorious monarchs today by the head of England’s judiciary.

In a pointed intervention, Baroness Carr – the first lady chief justice – denounced claims that the government deserved credit for the way those involved in the riots were jailed within days over summer.

It was an example of how the “constitutional boundaries” between political and legal matters had been wrongly “blurred”, said Baroness Carr, who also called for courts to be “properly funded” as she revealed one judge was forced to climb on to a court roof to clear blocked gutters because of a leak.

In controversial remarks on the separation of powers, she compared it to King John, who was forced to sign Magna Carta in 1215 which stopped the monarch putting themselves above the law or meddling in the courts and became the cornerstone of basic freedoms.

Baroness Carr, who was appointed last October, said in her first Mansion House speech: “Suggestions that the listing of riot cases speedily in the criminal courts was a consequence of government action or pressure was a false constitutional narrative.”

The listing of court cases was “a judicial function – it cannot be otherwise”.

She continued: ”One only has to think of King John…”

Magna Carta ”came about because he was interfering with the listing of hearings for his own benefit. That was the reason why he was compelled to agree not to ’delay or deny’ justice”.

In King John’s reign some of those accused of crimes had been allowed to “buy” a favourable court judgment while others wrongly accused went free in return for donating to the king’s coffers.

The Magna Carta clause referenced by Baroness Carr on agreeing not to delay or deny justice was inserted to stop this happening.

In the immediate aftermath of the summer riots Sir Keir was praised for his response to the crisis. Hundreds of offenders were hauled before the courts promptly with many sentenced to jail.

Sir Keir said at the time: ”Be in no doubt: those who have participated in this violence will face the full force of the law.

“The police will be making arrests. Individuals will be held on remand. Charges will follow. And convictions will follow. I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder.”

He paid tribute to the ”robust and swift” response of the criminal justice system and said rioters would be sentenced in days.

”That should send a powerful message to anybody involved – you are likely to be dealt with within a week,” he added.

Baroness Carr, the first woman to lead the judiciary, a post that dates back nearly 800 years, said it was vital to protect the rule of law, first established by Magna Carta.

She also said courts must have sufficient funds to function properly.

She claimed that one judge, whom she did not name, had been forced to clamber in to the roof of a leaky court to fix it themselves.

Courts must be ”fit places for the judiciary and legal staff to work in. We cannot continue to have judges (as I understand one did) taking it on themselves to climb onto a court roof to clear a gutter that was blocked and causing a leak”.

She called for “sustainable and long-term funding” to secure the rule law effectively in a speech delivered as more than 1,000 prisoners were released after 40 per cent of their sentences to ease prison overcrowding.

“We have a judicial system that has almost been taken for granted as the envy of the world,” she added in the speech at the annual event in London on Tuesday.

“We need digitisation, we need to harness the power of AI in appropriate ways, we need modern flexible courtrooms and IT systems, and experienced staff, in order to maintain its standing.”

Hammering home the point, she told the audiences of judges hosted by the Lord mayor of the City of London, that an effective judiciary is a benefit to Britain’s democracy, its citizens and businesses.

“The point is in essence a simple one: the cost of justice is not the same as its value,” she said. “And its worth to individuals, to the economy, to society as a whole, goes well beyond the numbers.

“Investment in the courts and tribunals is one that repays very many dividends. There is a price in a future without it.”