A new paper with backing from three top lawyers concludes that the Attorney General – Rt Hon Lord (Richard) Hermer KC – should not be able to rely on legal confidentiality rules to escape questions about whether he had a conflict of interest over Gerry Adams’s compensation decisions.

The paper makes clear that the question of whether a Law Officer has encountered a conflict of interest, or whether a Law Officer has recused him or herself from advising government on a particular matter as a consequence of a conflict, is not a matter for the Law Officer Convention.

The paper is supported by former Lord Chancellor and former Solicitor General Rt Hon Sir Robert Buckland KC, Rt Hon Lord Keen of Elie KC, former Advocate General for Scotland, and Lord Faulks KC.

The launch of this paper was covered by:

• The Times
• The Telegraph
• The Daily Mail
• News Letter
• A Lawyer Writes – Joshua Rozenberg Substack