Lord Chief Justice attacks Justice Secretary for failing to stick up for Brexit judges

The country's top judge has attacked the Justice Secretary for failing to defend him and two colleagues who had been labelled "enemies of the people" over Brexit.

The Lord Chief Justice said Liz Truss was "completely and utterly wrong" not to stand up for him and two other judges against harsh criticism in the press.

Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd said that as Lord Chancellor, Ms Truss had a constitutional "duty" to protect the judiciary and that the reaction to his ruling had forced him to go to the police for protection.

The High Court judges had ruled the Prime Minister should ask Parliament for permission to officially trigger the Brexit negotiations.

Their decision sparked some extremely critical newspaper front pages, which a number of MPs criticised saying they were "chilling and outrageous" and smacked of a "fascist state".

But Ms Truss refused to condemn the coverage and said it was not her job to tell the newspapers what to write.

Speaking to the Lords Constitution Comittee, Lord Thomas said: "It is the only time in the whole of my judicial career that I have had to ask for the police to give us a measure of advice and protection in relation to the emotions that were being stirred up.

"And I think that it is very wrong that judges should feel it.

"I have done a number of cases involving al Qaida, I dealt with the airline bombers' plot, some very, very serious cases. I have never had that problem before."

Speaking about the Daily Mail headline that branded the High Court judges "enemies of the people", Lord Thomas said the judges had written to Ms Truss because "litigants in person were coming and saying, 'You're an enemy of the people.'"

He said he was speaking out against Ms Truss because of comments she made last week saying judges would face greater scrutiny after Brexit.

"It really is absolutely essential we have a Lord Chancellor who understands her constitutional duty," he said.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "An independent judiciary is the cornerstone of the rule of law and it is the duty of the Lord Chancellor to defend that independence.

"The Lord Chancellor takes that duty very seriously.

"She has been very clear that she supports the independence of the judiciary but that she also believes in a free press, where newspapers are free to publish, within the law, their views."