‘Tough stance’ from judges forced British press to back down on personal attacks
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Lord Thomas
of Cwmgiedd
A “tough stance” from judges after the Daily Mail’s infamous “enemies of the people” front page dissuaded the British press from further public attacks on the bench, the former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales has said.
Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd told The Brief that the papers had backed down after the strong response in 2016 and the judiciary has “not seen such personal attacks since”.
The former senior judge said it was “remarkable” that there had been no similar media criticism of judges after the Supreme Court ruled last month in a historic judgment that Prime Minister Boris Johnson unlawfully prorogued Parliament.
Reflecting on the “enemies of the people” headline, Lord Thomas said: “I don’t think it upset me. I was concerned for the reputation of the independence of the judiciary if it was abused in that way.”
He added that judges are not above criticism, but “abusive attacks of that kind are quite different”.
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