Lord Falconer ‘very sorry’ for saying Covid is ‘gift that keeps on giving’ for lawyers
'I very much regret my choice of words,' says shadow attorney general
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Your support makes all the difference.Labour's shadow attorney general has apologised after he described the coronavirus pandemic as a "gift that keeps on giving for lawyers".
Lord Falconer made the comment during an online Covid-19 briefing for City law firm Gibson Dunn last June, according to The Mail on Sunday.
His remarks were seized on by Conservatives who claimed Labour was "playing politics" with the crisis, which has caused more than 112,000 deaths.
The peer, who served as Lord Chancellor under Tony Blair, told the BBC he had been referring to the frequent changes to the law during the pandemic and added: "But I very much regret my choice of words."
Shadow business secretary Ed Miliband told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show that Lord Falconer was "very, very sorry".
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"He shouldn't have said it," said Mr Miliband. "He was talking in the context of lawyers and the way the law was changing.
"It was a very poor choice of words. I have spoken to Charlie this morning and he is very, very sorry and apologises for what he said.
"It shows that we have to be careful with our words – all politicians have to be very careful with our words.
"I know Charlie very well and Charlie thinks the country has been through a terrible, terrible trauma and this in no way reflects his view about the Covid crisis."
Labour leader Keir Starmer has previously had to apologise after shadow education secretary Kate Green urged the party not to "let a good crisis go to waste" in September.
Tory party co-chairman Amanda Milling tweeted: "One Shadow Minister previously said this pandemic was a 'good crisis' for Labour. Now these troubling comments by another shadow minister emerge.
"This sums up Labour’s approach throughout the pandemic, which has been to play politics at every opportunity."
Lord Falconer served as shadow justice secretary under Jeremy Corbyn before resigning three days after the 2016 Brexit referendum in protest at his leadership.
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