At her annual press conference, the Lady Chief Justice said she was "deeply troubled" by the exchanges at Prime Minister's questions relating to the judgment in a recent immigration case. The Lady Chief said: "Both the question and the answer were unacceptable. It is for the government visibly to respect and protect the independence of the judiciary, where parties, including the government, disagree with their findings they should do so through the appellate process and, of course, MPs, just like the governing body, also have a duty to respect the rule of law."
Commenting, Barbara Mills KC, Chair of the Bar Council, said:
“Our independent judiciary upholds the rule of law and is an essential pillar of our democracy. All politicians should protect the independence of the judiciary, not criticise the judges who act according to the laws made by Parliament.
“We support the Lady Chief Justice in her assertion that anyone who disagrees with a judgment should do so through the appellate process.”