Attorney general and Fareham MP Suella Braverman criticised by top barristers

QCs at the Bar Council’s annual general meeting quizzed Mrs Braverman on how Britain could keep ‘a shred of credibility’ after the government admitted it would breach international law in a ‘specific and limited way,’ The Observer reported today.

It comes after a legal opinion circulated to MPs by Mrs Braverman on Thursday argued that parliament was sovereign in domestic law and was entitled to pass legislation which breached the UK’s treaty obligations.

All of this relates to the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, and Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis’s admission in the House of Commons that Boris Johnson’s internal market bill would be breach of the agreement.

The News has contacted Mrs Braverman today for a response.

The Bar Council meeting comes as justice secretary Robert Buckland was coming under pressure to explain how the government’s plans to override elements of the agreement were consistent with the UK’s obligations under international law.

In a letter to Mr Buckland, the House of Lords Constitution Committee said that he had a particular responsibility to ensure the UK met its international treaty obligations having taken an oath as Lord Chancellor to uphold the rule of law.

‘We know how seriously you take your oath of office and responsibility to uphold the rule of law and when you appeared before the committee in July you spoke passionately on the subject,’ the committee said.

‘Therefore, we should be grateful for a statement from you on how you believe the UK Internal Market Bill complies with international law.’

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