Baroness Carr calls for ‘objective and accurate reporting’
“Inaccurate reporting” has led to judges receiving death threats and being “doorstepped,” the Lady Chief Justice warned — just days after a new survey revealed that many judges now fear for their personal safety.
Speaking to the House of Lords constitution committee, Baroness Carr added to her previous comment that she was “deeply troubled” by an exchange during Prime Ministers’ Questions where the PM claimed that a judge had made the “wrong decision” in relation to an immigration appeal. This, she said, was a misunderstanding of the case.
“To imply, for example, that a Palestinian family was allowed to settle in this country under the Ukrainian family scheme is simply, wholly wrong,” she said. “But as a result of that headline and the publicity, without going into details or individuals, there have been extraordinarily serious security threats.”
“It’s really important to understand that no one has ever suggested, no one is saying there should not be robust and healthy debate both in and outside parliament, including criticism if necessary of judgments,” she continued. “But the judicial process and judicial independence have to be respected.”
Carr added that if the judgment is wrong the litigants have the option to appeal, however if the law itself is deemed to be wrong, that is the realm of parliament to change.
Whilst debating a judgment is fair game, Carr said, “Inaccurate reporting and abuse of a judge who cannot speak out to defend themselves” is unacceptable. “The trigger for my concern in the context of the need to respect the judicial process is the dangers that arise out of inaccurate reporting.”
The committee were told that judges have received death threats and been doorstepped. One judge, Carr said, had been contacted on social media by someone who claimed threateningly that he was standing next to the judge’s child on a bus.
“I welcome reporting and criticism but what I have always asked for, from day one, is fair, objective and accurate reporting,” Carr told the committee.
“This is not about closing the debate down,” she said. “The debate should be wide open. It is for the courts to decide whether a judgment is wrong. But it is absolutely unacceptable — as I must protect my judges and defend them — that they are exposed to the sort of comments and reporting that shatter their lives.”
A recent survey of judges in the UK found that nearly four in ten judges (39%) are now worried about their safety in court, with 26% concerned outside of court.
As a response, Carr continued, the courts and judiciary have taken protection action. “They change the way we work on a day-to-day basis now, she said. “We are taking steps — which I cannot divulge or share — on a daily basis in relation to where we do things and how we do things.”
