Lawyers accuse Robert Jenrick of endangering staff over Hamas case remarks
Lawyers representing Hamas have accused former minister Robert Jenrick of endangering their staff after claiming they show "sympathy for terrorists" by representing the Palestinian group.
Riverway Law, the firm handling a legal application to deproscribe Hamas in the UK, has written to Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood urging her to condemn Jenrick’s remarks.
In the letter, solicitor Fahad Ansari argued that the former immigration minister's comments were not only inflammatory but could also put him and other lawyers representing Hamas in danger.
"Mr Jenrick has had recent form for attacking not just lawyers, but independent judges as well," Ansari wrote.
"His comments are not only reckless and libellous but amount to incitement against our staff members."
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
"We do not need to go back to the murders of Pat Finucane and Rosemary Nelson to understand the potential consequences of Mr Jenrick’s words," he added, referring to lawyers who were killed by loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland for representing alleged members of the Irish Republican Army, a proscribed militant group.
'His comments are not only reckless and libellous but amount to incitement against our staff members'
- Fahad Ansari, solicitor at Riverway Law
The letter noted that Mahmood had pledged to be "a champion for the rule of law" when she had been sworn in as justice minister.
"I call upon you to live up to those words and to condemn Mr Jenrick's comments and call upon him and other politicians to apologise and to refrain from such attacks on members of the legal profession."
Jenrick had described those seeking to overturn the UK's ban on Hamas as "acting as mouthpieces for a terrorist organisation" and called on the Solicitors Regulation Authority to investigate and potentially strike them off.
In a statement to reporters, Jenrick said: "It is outrageous that legal professionals in this country are seeking to legitimise a genocidal terror group. The British public will not tolerate this."
The Ministry of Justice and Jenrick did not respond to a request for comment at the time of writing.
Deproscribing Hamas
Last week, Riverway Law submitted an application to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, calling on her to remove Hamas from the list of proscribed terrorist organisations under Section 4 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
The application was submitted with Daniel Grutters, a barrister at One Pump Court Chambers and Franck Magennis, a barrister at Garden Court Chambers.
The 106-page application includes expert testimony from legal experts and academics who argue the 2021 decision to designate Hamas a terrorist organisation "pursued explicity political objectives by a politically compromised Secretary of State".
The lawyers involved in the case stressed that Hamas did not pay them or the experts and lawyers who provided evidence for its submission, as it is illegal to receive funds from a group designated as a terrorist organisation.
Cooper now has 90 days to consider the application and issue a decision. If the application is rejected, Hamas has the option to seek a judicial review.
In 2021, Hamas was fully proscribed by then-Home Secretary Priti Patel, expanding an earlier ban on its armed wing.
The legal process for deproscription requires the home secretary to assess whether an organisation still meets the statutory criteria for being designated as a terrorist group.
Ansari argued that Jenrick's intervention undermines the legal process and the principle of independent legal representation.
The dispute has reignited concerns over political attacks on legal professionals. In recent years, several Conservative politicians have criticised lawyers involved in politically sensitive cases.
In 2020, Jenrick expressed frustration with "activist lawyers" challenging deportations of migrants, echoing Home Office rhetoric at the time.
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman also accused immigration lawyers of being part of a "migration racket", drawing widespread criticism from legal bodies.
In 2022, then-Justice Secretary Dominic Raab proposed changes to human rights laws, accusing some lawyers of "abusing the system" to block government policies. Legal groups and human rights organisations warned these comments could have a chilling effect on the independence of the profession.
middleeasteye.net