The Government has appointed little-known MP, Andrew Selous, to replace Jeremy Wright, who is taking over as the Attorney General, as the new justice minister at the MoJ.
That is not the biggest story, though, as the one thing that is known about the latest Justice Minister is that he has a background in insurance, as he qualified as a chartered insurer before being elected as the MP for South West Bedfordshire in 2001 and worked as a reinsurance underwriter at Great Lakes Reinsurance (UK) PLC, which is a known provider of after-the-event insurance.
So what can the profession expect of the latest man to be drafted in to the MoJ. Well, his most memorable moment in government came when he voiced his opinion regarding benefits on Twitter, which made him look just a little bit silly as he tweeted: “Strongly support the loss of benefits unless claimants lean (sic) English.”
In regards to his new role, he will oversee the Prisons and Probations and in true Conservative style he has no prior experience in this role, so with that in mind the kindest answer to the question ‘what to expect?’ is uncertainty.
Surprise appointment
Meanwhile, Jeremy Wright’s surprise appointment as the new Attorney General, the first non-QC ever to take the role, has received a frosty response from lawyers up and down the country who are questioning whether or not he has the legal pedigree to be the Government’s principal legal adviser.
He follows on from Dominic Grieve QC, who also had little public law experience but had been qualified as a legal professional for 16 years longer than his successor.
Image source(s)
1. Ministry of Justice; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_Justice_(United_Kingdom)