Labour accuses Robert Jenrick of ‘personal attack’ on attorney general

Robert Jenrick has been accused by Labour of resorting to an unwarranted personal attack after comparing the attorney general, Lord Hermer, to a mafia lawyer and calling him a “useful idiot” for Britain’s “enemies”.

In a combative speech to Conservative conference in Manchester, the shadow justice secretary also promised to remove judges with links to migrant charities, saying they “dishonour generations of independent jurists”.

Jenrick told the annual conference: “Like one of those infamous mafia lawyers of yesteryear, Hermer always chose a particular type of client – Shamima Begum, Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man, terrorists involved in 7/7.

“Since taking office, the advice we’re told Lord Hermer has given to Starmer and his cronies, like to give away the Chagos islands to an ally of China and to pay billions of pounds for the privilege – in each and every one of these incidents, he’s wasted no time establishing himself as a useful idiot for our enemies.

“His rise symbolises the central truth of Keir Starmer’s government: Labour is just not on Britain’s side.”

A Labour source said Jenrick’s comments are an attempt to disguise his own poor grip of the law. The source pointed out that a judge last month criticised the Tory MP for risking the collapse of a murder trial.

“Jenrick thinks personal attacks are a good replacement for a basic understanding of the law. The attorney general is changing things for the better, including helping deliver the Hillsborough law, while Jenrick nearly collapses murder trials with his tweets. Who would you rather have protecting the rule of law?”

Hermer has represented Grenfell families and worked on the taskforce for crimes committed in Ukraine, the source pointed out.

The attorney general has previously dismissed Jenrick’s attacks for his previous client list.

In June, he told the BBC: “It’s a bit like attacking a journalist for the person that they’re interviewing or a doctor for the nature of their patient. Lawyers are professionally obliged to represent those who come to them for cases.

“You can’t say no because you don’t like someone’s politics. The whole justice system falls apart if you do that.”

During the speech, Jenrick also claimed to have uncovered judges with links to “open border charities” and said a future Tory government would sack any members of the judiciary caught working on their behalf.

“The public rightly ask how independent are they. They dishonour generations of independent jurists who came before them, and they undermine the people’s trust in the law itself. Judges who blur the line between adjudication and activism can have no place in our justice system.”

Former supreme court judge Lord Sumption told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme that Jenrick’s plans to sack what he called “activist” judges was a “serious mistake”.

“It would bring us somewhat closer to [the US] model. In the United States the supreme court has become subservient to the president and enabled him to behave like an autocrat. I think that’s a serious business in the United States and we should be very careful to take warning from it.”

When asked whether judges who are named as “activist” can sit on the bench again, he said naming the judges was a “misjudgment” from the shadow justice secretary.

“They can’t be independent if they’re liable to be denounced by politicians. I think that is a serious mistake, a misjudgment on his [Jenrick’s] part,” he said.

The speech came after the Guardian disclosed a leaked recording that showed Jenrick had complained that he “didn’t see another white face” during a visit to Handsworth in Birmingham.

Related: Badenoch defends Jenrick’s ‘no white faces’ comments about Birmingham

Jenrick, who lost to Kemi Badenoch in a party leadership election last year, moved away from his justice brief towards the end of his speech.

He said there was “much to cherish about who we are”, including British food and drink, a “love of pubs”, “love of animals”, sporting heroes such as the Red Roses and cricketer Chris Woakes, a royal family “so admired they make the most powerful man in the world go weak at the knees” and “a military that has defeated every force on the planet”.

He said: “Every tide turns. I can feel Britain’s fortunes turning.

“So let’s pick ourselves up. Let’s dust ourselves down. Let’s draw on Britain’s greatness to make it greater still, let’s fight for a better future. Let’s build this new order. Let’s take our country back.”