04 September 2020
Home Secretary Attack On Lawyers Unacceptable
The
President of the Law Society of Northern Ireland, Rowan White has called on the
Home Secretary, Priti Patel to retract comments she made in a tweet on Thursday
night.
The Home
Secretary tweeted:
“Today we removed people who came
here via small boat. They had previously claimed asylum elsewhere and had no
legal right to be in the UK.
Removals continue to be frustrated
by activist lawyers, but I will not let up until this route is unviable.”
In response
the President of the Law Society of Northern Ireland said:
“No
lawyer should be attacked for being an activist in pursuing their clients’
interests. That is their duty.
The Home Secretary’s tweet is implying
that people should not be entitled to the benefit of legal advice. It
is unacceptable in a democracy to deny people access to justice or the rule of
law”.
ENDS