Starmer hits out at shadow attorney general for acting as Abramovich’s lawyer
Sir Keir Starmer attacked the frontbenchers of the Conservative Party, which sits in the shadow cabinet while acting as lawyer for Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
The shadow attorney general, Lord Wolfson of Tredegar, is among senior lawyers representing Mr Abramovich in a case in Jersey.
The former Chelsea owner has found himself embroiled in a legal battle after launching an investigation into the source of more than £5.3bn of assets linked to and held by the Channel island government.
According to various reports, the legal process is said to be delaying the release of funds from Mr Abramovich’s sale of Chelsea Football Club; The UK Government wants this funding to be used to help rebuild Ukraine after the end of the war.
As a result of the case, Lord Wolfson stopped providing legal advice to Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch on matters relating to Russia and Ukraine, including the possible deployment of British troops.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Ms Badenoch criticized Labor Attorney General Lord Hermer for previously representing Gerry Adams and Shamima Begum.
“I will pit our shadow attorney general against his Attorney General any day of the week,” he told the House of Commons.
Lord Hermer has previously faced questions about his previous work representing the former Sinn Fein leader, with some claiming it could lead to potential conflicts of interest in his Government work.
Speaking on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said: “What kind of person can sit in his shadow cabinet and advise someone who is trying to evade sanctions and pretend their policy is to support us on sanctions?”
Ms Badenoch replied: “Do they know what the shadow attorney general is doing? He is defending veterans for free against the actions of this Government on this side of the House. We will defend those who defend us.”
“But why don’t we talk about the real Attorney General sitting in the Cabinet? The man who defended Gerry Adams, the man who tried to bring Shamima Begum back to the country, the man who helped hand over the Chagos Islands.”
“I will pit our shadow attorney general against his attorney general any day of the week.”
Sir Keir replied: “Of course I accept that lawyers should represent all types of clients. The question is, can the shadow attorney-general sit in the shadow cabinet when the other side says they support us on sanctions?”
“We want the money from Chelsea Football Club to go to Ukraine. I’m not sure if that’s his position.”
“If that’s his position, it’s probably something they discussed in the shadow cabinet, recommended by a shadow attorney general who represents the man whose money we want to send to Ukraine.
“If he can’t see a conflict of interest in this, then he’s showing no judgment or leadership.
“It’s a new year but the Opposition leader has nothing to offer the country. He’s completely irrelevant. Nobody listens to him.”
A spokesman for Ms Badenoch said Lord Wolfson was not in the shadow cabinet and that the Jersey case was “a completely different jurisdiction”.
“There is absolutely no reading into the £2.5bn from the sale of Chelsea FC and the Conservatives have said many times and will repeat, we want to see those funds go out and reach Ukraine as quickly as possible,” he said.
Lord Wolfson “withdrew from providing legal advice on Ukraine and Russia, as is standard practice”.
The spokesman said legal advice on these matters could be provided by shadow attorney general Helen Grant or lawyers at the shadow cabinet table, including shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick.
