The new Prime Minister returned to London and began making Ministerial and other appointments -
Liz Truss new cabinet in full: who is in and who is out? | Liz Truss | The Guardian
Justice / Lord Chancellor:
Brandon Lewis became Secretary of State for Justice and
will be duly sworn in as Lord Chancellor. The "swearing in" takes place in a ceremony at the Royal Courts of Justice where, before the Lord Chief Justice, the new Lord Chancellor takes the oath of office as set out in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 section 17.Lewis obtained a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Buckingham and a Master of Law degree in Commercial Law from King's College London. He was called to the Bar by the Inner Temple. His career has been principally in politics.
Perhaps the major issue facing the new Lord Chancellor is the dispute between the government and the Criminal Bar over fees for legal aid to defendants in the criminal courts - Liz Truss’s justice secretary urged to meet striking criminal barristers | Barristers | The Guardian
See the Statement (5 September 2022) from the Chair of the Criminal Bar Association - Chair’s Introductory Message – 05.09.22 – Criminal Bar Association and CBA-Parliamentary-Briefing-31.8.221.pdf (criminalbar.com)
Lewis came to note when he spoke in the House of Commons of the Internal Market Bill breaching international law in a 'very specific and limited way' - Tories admit they're going to break law 'in limited way' with Brexit power grab | The National. The Bill eventually became the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 (legislation.gov.uk)
Law Officers:
The new Attorney General is Michael Ellis QC. Ellis is also a law graduate of the University of Buckingham and was called to the Bar by the Middle Temple in 1993.
In 2021, Ellis acted as Attorney General during Suella Braverman's maternity leave.
The post of Solicitor General is held by Edward Timpson QC MP who was appointed (by Boris Johnson) on 7 July 2022. He graduated from Durham University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in politics. He was called to the Bar in 1998 and practised for a time in family law, specialising in cases of vulnerable children.
Solicitor General - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Home Secretary:
Suella Braverman has become the Secretary of State for the Home Department and, in that role, replaces Priti Patel MP whose tenure in office is notable for the policy of deportation to Rwanda - UK ministers ignored evidence Rwanda violated human rights, court told | Immigration and asylum | The Guardian.
Patel, who is no longer a member of the government, was also noteworthy for the Public Order Bill currently before Parliament - Law and Lawyers: Public Order - yet another Bill
Braverman stood as a candidate for the Conservative Party leadership and is noted for her view that the United Kingdom should leave the European Convention on Human Rights - Suella Braverman: home secretary set to take even harder line on migration | Suella Braverman | The Guardian
Northern Ireland:
Chris Heaton-Harris MP becomes Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. He served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1999 to 2009 but is, on his own admission, fiercely Eurosceptic and was chair of the European Research Group (ERG) of Conservative MPs from 2010 to 2016. His voting record on equality and human rights may be seen at - Chris Heaton-Harris MP, Daventry - TheyWorkForYou
Major issues facing Heaton-Harris are the Northern Ireland Protocol Bill and the fact that the Northern Ireland Assembly is not functioning.
Law and Lawyers: Northern Ireland Protocol - a government Bill (obiterj.blogspot.com)
Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland | European Commission (europa.eu)
Northern Ireland Deadlock Deepens as DUP Blocks Speaker Again - BNN Bloomberg
Northern Ireland Still Doesn’t Have An Executive, What Happens Now? (politicshome.com)
BBC News - EU open to positive proposal under new PM
Whether Heaton-Harris will make a good appointment is for political commentators to judge. Suffice to note that the post is, at the best of times, difficult and is particularly difficult in these post-Brexit times.
*** UPDATE 26 October 2022 ***
The Premiership of Elizabeth Truss proved to be the shortest in British history. She resigned on 25 October and Rishi Sunak was appointed as PM - Law and Lawyers: Elizabeth Truss chosen appointed PM on 6 September / Resigned 24 October 2022 and Rishi Sunak appointed (obiterj.blogspot.com)
A new Cabinet was formed - Rishi Sunak’s cabinet: Who is in the prime minister’s top team? - BBC News
Brandon Lewis resigned and Dominic Raab was appointed as both Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Justice / Lord Chancellor.
Michael Ellis was replaced as Attorney-General by Victoria Prentis - Attorney General - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The Solicitor General post changed on 7 September when Michael Tomlinson was appointed - Solicitor General - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Suella Braverman resigned as Home Secretary on 19 October 2022 admitting to a breach of the Ministerial Code - Suella Braverman: Home Secretary's resignation letter in full - BBC News. Truss appointed Grant Shapps as Home Secretary but, on 25 October 2022, Sunak re-appointed Braverman - - Suella Braverman back as home secretary after resigning - BBC News.
Chris Heaton-Harris continued as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
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