Jo Maugham Profile picture
Feb 15 4 tweets 1 min read
When you ask 'could someone else bring this claim' remember that Runnymede was referred to the Charity Commission for bringing it. Civil society is frightened to litigate even alongside us - Runnymede's experience suggests justifiably - and few or none will litigate alone.
And that's even before we get to financial support, litigation expertise, comms support and regulatory support putative partners rely on us for. In theory there may be better litigants. In practice if you want to uphold the rule of law in these times there isn't much else.
Perhaps you're cool with that. Perhaps you don't care if the Government's persistent illegality is challenged. But if you are living in the real world, rather than a law library, you have to take the practice of this litigation seriously.
I've said several times recently that 2022 is going to be an 'Empire Strikes Back'* year. If you think of yourself as being on the side of the rule of law, you really need to decide where you stand on this stuff.

*Remember it was a trilogy.

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More from @JolyonMaugham

Feb 16
Hancock, a man three times found to have broken the law, including yesterday is on his high horse. Tell your publican. Or the taxpayers who'll pay for your illegal VIP lane. Or the woman you had an affair with in lock down. Or the ethnic minorities or disabled people you ignored.
The sheer front of these sleazy little men. They really do think they are too good for the law. They have no care for how they betray those who work hard and pay taxes to fund the public purse which they use as an illegal treasury for their VIP associates.
Number of times Matt Hancock has broken the law: three (so far).

Number of times I or Good Law Project have broken the law: zero.

Who's discredited, Matt?
Read 4 tweets
Feb 16
So. A few points on why I think our comms yesterday were basically right. 🧵
First, an important point which many have overlooked. We have not said that *we* won. We said that Johnson and Hancock broke the law. And they did.
Second point, there was no real difference between the interests of Runnymede and ourselves in the litigation. We both sought the same remedy and for the same reason. Moreover, we indemnified Runnymede against all costs liabilities (as we always do with co-claimants).
Read 10 tweets
Feb 15
Lots of people are asking what the consequences are of the High Court's holding. It's a good question. THREAD.
Our constitution rests on the foundation that our political class will self-regulate. Peter Hennessy - the constitutional scholar - described this as the 'good chap' theory of the constitution (I've always read the phrase as tongue in cheek although it does sound off these days).
Part of that foundation is that politicians will care - or be caused by those around them to care - when they break the law. This is captured in the Ministerial Code which says that Ministers (including the PM) are expected to adhere to the law.
Read 19 tweets
Feb 15
Harry Cole - a troll to his horny toenails.
Yes, that would be the same Harry Cole who, whilst at the Mail on Sunday, said (until our lawyers wrote to him) he would publish my home address in a week he knew I was getting death threats.
There are some rather eek stories circulating about what Harry Cole did when Matt Forde was interviewing Keir Starmer at the Vaudeville Theatre but I might leave those for another day.
Read 4 tweets
Feb 15
BREAKING: Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former Health Minister Matt Hancock broke the law because they didn’t think about disabled and ethnic minority communities in appointing Dido Harding and Mike Coupe.
Full story here. glplive.org/jftb-tw-1502
We are proud to have worked with @RunnymedeTrust.

And we are grateful to our legal team: @alexrook1 of @ris_law and Jason Coppel QC and Hannah Slarks of @11KBW.
Read 6 tweets
Feb 13
Hard analytically to distinguish this from the VIP lane - which the High Court ruled illegal.
It will only be unlawful if donors get preferential treatment. Of course, they did get preferential treatment in the illegal PPE VIP lane.
And the reality - as they describe it to me and we have seen in emails - is that civil servants know it will impede their careers if they don't give effect to what they understand to be the wishes of their political masters. So donors do get preferential treatment.
Read 4 tweets

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