Jolyon Maugham QC

A press release issued by the Tory leadership contender’s team about his plans to crack down on judicial reviews of government policy mentions Mr Maugham 10 times and lists examples of wasteful cases, all of which involve Mr Maugham.

In the release, Mr Sunak promises to resist what he calls “lawfare” and says he will deploy secondary legislation “in the event of judicial recidivism”.

Lucy Frazer, the former Solicitor General who once said Cromwell’s transportation of Scots as slaves to the colonies “is an answer to the West Lothian question”, is quoted in the release as saying the judicial review process is “being abused by campaigners”.

She added: “We need to act on this to stop our stretched courts being overwhelmed by political claims. Rishi Sunak’s government will act to get a grip of the increasing burden politically activist lawyers are placing on the judiciary.”

Responding to the release, Mr Maugham said: “Good Law Project’s litigation is uncovering billions of your money wasted by this government’s cronyism and sleaze.

“It wants you kept in the dark. But we think it should obey the same rules as everyone else. Not change them so it doesn’t have to. None of us is above the law.”