'Public confidence ebbing' as government 'drags heels' over Gerry Adams-Lord Hermer controversy

That is the view of lawyer Matt Jury, who was speaking after a week of silence from government quarters about the Attorney General Lord Hermer's possible role in move which benefitted Mr Adams – a former client of Lord Hermer's before he took on the job of top government legal advisor.

The story concerns the new Labour government's decision last July not to appeal against a High Court ruling which said it was unlawful to bar former internees like Gerry Adams from seeking damages over their incarceration.

Mr Adams' detention in the 1970s had been ruled invalid in 2020 due to a technicality about who signed the order.

The decision not to appeal the High Court ruling in July cleared the way for Mr Adams to seek compensation over his detention (though Keir Starmer has since pledged to do all he can to prevent this).

Questions are now being asked about whether the Attorney General Lord Hermer had any role in the decision to abandon the appeal, given his previous relationship with Mr Adams.

Specifically, Lord Hermer had acted for Mr Adams in 2023 as part of a civil action against the former Sinn Fein president from IRA victims, who were represented by Matt Jury.

So far there has been a refusal to say if the Attorney General did advise the government over dropping the appeal, or if he recused himself due to a potential conflict of interest.

The matter has now been in the headlines for the last week, and on Monday a host of prominent legal minds produced a report for the influential think tank Policy Exchange, calling for the government to make clear if the Attorney General had been involved.

Now Mr Jury has issued a fresh call for transparency from the government, telling the News Letter: "It’s unclear why the Government and the Attorney General continue to drag their heels while public confidence, particularly among the victims and survivors of the IRA, continues to wane.

"They need to answer three questions and do so quickly: Did Lord Hermer advise the government on repealing those sections of the Legacy Act preventing compensation payments to Adams? If so, what was the advice?

"Given the Prime Minister’s statement that the government will do everything it can to prevent such payments, what is it actually planning to do?

"These are not difficult questions to answer, and they are answers the victims deserve.”

In a statement’s the office of the Attorney General said: “Law Officers, by their experience and very professional nature will have an extensive legal background and may have previously been involved in a wide number of past cases.

“That is why there is a robust system for considering and managing any conflicts that may arise, in line with the professional obligations of Law Officers.

“There is the established process on Ministerial declarations, with previous employment and interests having been published for the public record.”