Lord Hermer handed biggest increase in spending review
Lord Hermer has emerged as one of the big winners from Rachel Reeves's spending review.
The budget for the Government's law officers will soar by 5.3 per cent between 2025-26 and 2028-29, at a time when many of his colleagues are facing real-terms cuts.
It comes despite the Home Office facing a cut of 1.4 per cent over the same period, putting plans to increase the number of police on the streets at risk.
The Attorney General has attracted huge controversy since he was unexpectedly appointed to the post after Labour's election victory last July.
During his time as a barrister, he defended Abid Naseer, the Islamist terrorist who plotted an attack on a Manchester shopping centre, and Gerry Adams, the former Sinn Fein leader.
The peer was recently forced to apologise after seeming to compare those who want to leave the European Convention on Human Rights with Nazis.
He has also angered Cabinet colleagues by taking a long time to sign off legislation to show it complies with human rights and other laws.
As Attorney General for England and Wales, Lord Hermer advises the Government on the way its legislation is framed. He also has other powers, such as being able to increase the length of a prison sentence he believes is 'unduly lenient'.
The Telegraph reported earlier this week that Lord Hermer declined to review at least three sentences given to a rapist, a paedophile and a terrorist sympathiser. All three had received shorter sentences than Lucy Connolly, who had been jailed for 31 months for a tweet about last year's Southport attacks.
But the peer was happy to sign off on her prosecution, even though he had the constitutional power to prevent it. He did not have any say over her sentence.
Although Lord Hermer's budget has increased, the actual amount given to the law officers' department is much smaller than some of the larger departments.
It is believed some of the rise is down to the fact that the Government has decided to bring more legal work in house rather than outsourcing it to external consultants.
Although the number of lawyers will increase, the department is expected to save money on consultants in the long term.
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