Richard Hermer, Baron Hermer

Richard Simon Hermer, Baron Hermer, (born September 1968), is a British barrister and life peer who has served as Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland since July 2024.

Born and raised in Wales, Hermer attended Cardiff High School. He went on to study politics and modern history at the University of Manchester and later pursued a legal career; being called to the bar in 1993. He joined Doughty Street Chambers in the same year and took silk in 2009, before leaving in 2012 to join Matrix Chambers. He later became the head of chambers at Matrix, and was appointed a deputy High Court judge in 2019. In his legal career spanning over three decades between 1993 and 2024, Hermer has been involved in a number of landmark cases. He has worked on numerous Supreme Court cases, including Lungowe v Vedanta Resources plc, and also intervened for Liberty in Begum v Home Secretary where he argued that Shamima Begum should have been allowed to return to the United Kingdom. He has also been involved in multiple cases related to the war on terror, including representing victims in the Afghan unlawful killings inquiry. In 2022, he was appointed to the Task Force on Accountability for Crimes Committed in Ukraine, and in 2023 he acted as an advisor to the Labour Party regarding the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill.

A friend and former colleague of Keir Starmer at Doughty Street Chambers, Hermer was a donor to Starmer's campaign in the 2020 Labour leadership election. After Starmer became Prime Minister following the 2024 general election, he appointed Hermer to the government as Attorney General for England and Wales and Advocate General for Northern Ireland. Hermer was concurrently nominated for a life peerage and was appointed to the Privy Council.

Early life and education
Richard Simon Hermer was born in Wales in September 1968. He was also raised in Wales, and attended Cardiff High School. He is from a "blue-box" Jewish family. He studied politics and modern history at the University of Manchester. In his youth, Hermer was a volunteer for Searchlight magazine; with the magazine later describing him as an "active and dedicated" anti-fascist who worked "closely" with Searchlight while he was a student in Manchester. He is a former sabbatical officer of the Union of Jewish Students.

Legal career (1993–2024)
Hermer was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in October 1993. He joined Doughty Street Chambers in 1993, three years after it was set up, where he got to know founding member Keir Starmer, who later gave the toast at Hermer's silk ceremony in 2009. On 13 March 2012, Hermer left Doughty Street Chambers and moved to work for Matrix Chambers. He later became the Chair of Matrix's Management committee (Head of Chambers), and was also colleague of Sarah Sackman whilst working there. During his career, Hermer specialised in human rights law, public law and environmental law, with The Guardian later describing him as an "expert on international law". His practice spanned public international law and private international law as well as domestic public law and private law.

In 2000, Hermer was appointed the inaugural Human Rights Practitioner in Residence at Columbia University in New York. In November 2019, Hermer was appointed a deputy High Court judge following an open competition by the Judicial Appointments Commission.

Ashley v Chief Constable of Sussex
In 2005, Hermer along with Keir Starmer were instructed by Deighton Guedalla for the claimants in Ashley v Chief Constable of Sussex, regarding the shooting of James Ashley.

In 2008, after the defendant supplied a copy of the Moonstone Report to the advisers of the claimants, but the scope of the redactions were disputed; Hermer argued that anything to the discredit of the defendant should have been disclosed because it could have potentially aggravated damages, but the judge rejected this.

Lungowe v Vedanta Resources plc
In 2017, Hermer was instructed by Leigh day for the respondents, in Lungowe & Ors v Vedanta Resources Plc & Anor, where he argued that the fact of the Vedanta claim in the UK "weighed very heavily" in favour of the conclusion that service out should have been set aside, though acknowledged the mere fact of it did not automatically lead to that conclusion. He later submitted that the judge had reached the right conclusion on whether England and Wales was the correct place to bring the claim, largely for the reasons that he gave.

In 2019, Hermer was instructed by Leigh day where he represented the claimants in the Supreme court case Lungowe v Vedanta Resources plc. He argued in the case that a lack of funding to support a fairly represented case presented a major barrier to justice in Zambia.

Killing of Mark Duggan
In 2020, Hermer, whilst working for Matrix Chambers, was a collaborator and part of the extended team working with Forensic Architecture, investigating the killing of Mark Dugan on 4 August 2011.

Begum v Home Secretary
In 2020, Hermer acted for Liberty, a human rights group that argued the Court of Appeal had correctly decided to allow Shamima Begum to return to the UK, which was an intervenor in Begum v Home Secretary. In written submissions, he said that the deprivation of citizenship was an "extremely draconian power" which could expose Begum to "rendition and targeted drone strikes", stating that the consequences could be "fatal". In March 2021, the Supreme Court later upheld the decision to refuse Begum leave to enter the UK.

Okpabi v Royal Dutch Shell plc
In June 2020, Hermer represented the claimants, who were Nigerian citizens who commenced two sets of proceedings against the Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDS) and the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC), in Supreme Court case Okpabi v Royal Dutch Shell plc. On 23 June, he told the court that there were "systematic failures either to stop devastating oil spills or remedy their profound impact", and also said that the damage to the mangrove fields covered 13,000 hectares which was more than twice the area of Manhattan.

In February 2021, in a landmark judgement the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favour that the claims of the 50,000 Nigerian villagers against the Royal Dutch Shell must proceed to trial.

Zubaydah v FCDO
Between 2021 and 2023, Hermer represented Abu Zubaydah, a Palestinian former Guantanamo Bay detainee, in his case filed against the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). Zubaydah alleged that between 2002 and 2006 he was unlawfully rendered by agents of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay, Lithuania, Morocco, Poland and Thailand (the six countries), where he was arbitrarily detained and subjected to extreme mistreatment and torture. He had brought the claim in English courts, as he alleged that UK intelligence services were complicit in the mistreatment and torture. In 2021, the High Court held that Zubaydah's claims against the UK intelligence services were governed by the laws of the six countries, but in 2022 the Court of Appeal overturned the judgement and said that the claims were governed by English law.

The case was brought to the Supreme Court, which was heard on 14 and 15 June 2023, and Hermer was instructed by Bhatt Murphy Solicitors in the case. He urged to the court the point that the significance of the injuries that occured in the six countries was reduced because Zubaydah was not voluntarily present in any of the six countries, as he was unlawfully taken and detained there by the CIA. He also argued that those six countries were chosen by the CIA because the local law could be evaded, and also said that the CIA "acting within their own law" and "operating their own framework of value and law". He also underlined how the CIA's black sites in each of the six countries acted as "de facto exclaves" where the laws and jurisdictions of the country did not run, and later described how the UK services opportunistically took advantage of the state of affairs that the CIA had brought about, which Hermer said made them complicit in that conduct. On 20 December 2023, the Supreme Court ruled in a majority 4-1 decision that English law was applicable.

Task-force for Ukraine
In March 2022, Hermer was appointed to a legal task-force, alongside other leading international human rights lawyers including Lord Neuberger, by the Government of Ukraine on the accountability for crimes committed in Ukraine to deliver for victims of international crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.

Grenfell Tower fire
Hermer acted for over 900 victims of the Grenfell Tower disaster and led the negotiations which led to the settlement of around £150,000,000 in 2023. He outlined the detail of the settlement to judge, Barbara Fontaine, at a High Court hearing in London where he said that around £50,000,000 would be allocated to a "restorative justice project", and also said that the defendants had agreed to fund an event titled "testimony week". Hermer said that "no amount of money will ever truly compensate for what the claimants have had to endure", and said that the settlement is "purely of the civil claims for compensation", and went on to say that it "does not right the wrong" and "does not secure accountability".

Anti-BDS bill
In July 2023, he acted as an advisor to the Labour Party regarding the proposed Economic Activity of Public Bodies bill, which was known as the Anti-BDS bill. In his opinion which was commissioned by David Lammy and Lisa Nandy, Hermer described Clause 1 of the bill as "appallingly badly drafted" and said that the bill would "stifle free speech at home", and also said that it would have a "profoundly detrimental impact" on the ability of the UK to "protect and promote humans rights overseas." He also said that the bill "effectively equates the OPT with Israel itself" which he said meant it was "very difficult to reconcile with the long-standing position of the United Kingdom which supports a two-state solution." Hermer also said that handing such power to the Secretary of State would "seem at odds with the general tenor of government policy to decentralise power", and went on to say that history had shown the "capricious consequences" that flow when powers of that nature were "removed from hundreds of public bodies and placed exclusively in the hands of one decision maker."

Conservative MP, Simon Clarke, whilst addressing Communities Secretary Michael Gove in the House of Commons, pointed out that Hermer had authored a chapter in the book titled "Corporate Complicity in Israel's Occupation: Evidence from the London session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine", which Clarke said was edited by some "interesting" people Clarke feared "in the most negative sense", and went on to ask if Hermer was really the "calibre of individual" who should have been advising the opposition. In response, Gove said that Hermer had a "record" in the area and a "record of political commitments" which everyone could see "clearly predisposes him towards a political and particular view" on the question. Hermer later responded by stating that the questions inferred that his analysis was somehow influenced by some form of malign intent towards Israel, but Hermer said that "it was not."

Gerry Adams damage claims
In November 2023, Hermer led the legal team and was the barrister for former Sinn Féin President, Gerry Adams, following damage claims of £1 brought against Adams and the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) by victims of bombings. In court, he argued that the PIRA was a "unincorporated association" that was "incapable in law of being sued." In a written case outline to Justice Michael Soole, he also argued against the claims of Adams as a "representative" of the PIRA, but did not argue that entire claims against Adams should be struck out. In January 2024, Justice Soole ruled that the claimants could not sue the PIRA or Adams as a "representative", but could continue in a personal capacity.

Solider murdered by IRA
In 2024, Hermer was instructed by the family of a British soldier who was murdered by the IRA in 1991, which was a challenge to the Northern Ireland (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2003.

Adam Rickwood inquest
In May 2007, Hermer represented the family of Adam Rickwood, who was the youngest person to die in custody in the modern era. The Youth Justice Board decided to send Rickwood to Hassockfield Secure Training Centre rather than one of the five local security authority children's homes (Lasch), and during the inquiry Hermer told the jury that the Laschs had a "different emphasis" compared to the STCs, due to better trained staff and higher staff ratios.

In December 2008, following calls from Rickwood's mother for a second inquest, Hermer said that Rickwood had died due to "systemic failures" and the use of an "unlawful" restraint technique. On 17 December when he opened the case, Hermer said that Rickwood was a "deeply troubled and deeply vulnerable child", and went on to say that the inquest considered the restraint methods used on Rickwood as a pontetial contributory factor to his death.

Stephen Allbutt inquest
In June 2007, Hermer acted in an inquest for the families of Corporal Stephen Allbutt and Trooper David Clarke; Clarke and Allbutt were two soldiers who were killed in Iraq in a "friendly fire" incident in March 2003. The inquest, which was held in Oxford, was into Allbutt's death as no inquest could be held for Clarke as his body was not found. Hermer told the inquest that documents were not given to the families of the two men when they should have been, and said that their copies had been edited to the point where they were "almost unintelligible". He went onto say that all it had done was "cause hurt and upset" to Allbutt's widow.

Lieutenant Colonel Lindsay MacDuff, who was a Major at the time, insisted in evidence to the inquest that he told Allbutt over the radio about the two friendly tanks (which had killed Allbutt and Clarke), despite there being no record of this transmission. In response, Hermer said to MacDuff "you are lying" and went on to say that it was "not a recollection" but instead a "fabrication."

Ella Kissi Debrah inquest
In November and December 2020, Hermer represented the family of Ella Kissi Debrah in an inquest. He accused Lewisham council of failing to treat air pollution as a priority despite knowing that it was dangerous. He said that after studies indicated that the pollution level was soaring, the council took seven years to make the first strategic needs assessment; going on to describe it as a "glacial pace in the context of a public health emergency." Hermer was instructed by Hodge Jones and Allen in the case, and the inquest later found that Ella Kissi Debrah had died of air pollution.

In July 2024, after Rosamund Kissi-Debrah announced that she would be suing the government, Rosamund Kissi-Debrah said that Hermer had "equated Ella's suffering to torture."

Afghan Unlawful Killings inquiry
In a public inquiry into the killing of 80 civilians by the SAS in Afghanistan, Hermer represented Mansour Aziz and families of the 33 victims. On 9 October 2023, in his opening statement on behalf of the families, he said that he would seek to find evidence "capable of suggesting" that the SAS were "applying a practice of unlawfully killing Afghan civilians"; later saying that this meant they were "conducting a campaign of murder" which he said was a "war crime amounting to grave breaches of the Geneva convention." He also stated on 11 October that the existence of serious suspicions of extra-judicial killings were "widely known at the highest levels of government … even in 10 downing street." Following evidence that the SAS deleted data from its computers which was in breach of promises it had made to the Royal Military Police, Hermer said that it was at best "highly suspicious", and at worst a "patent and criminal attempt to pervert the course of justice."

Appointment and early tenure
On 5 July 2024, Hermer was appointed Attorney General under Prime Minister Keir Starmer, succeeding Victoria Prentis. His appointment to the position was reported as a surprise, since Labour MP Emily Thornberry had served in Starmer's shadow cabinet as the Shadow Attorney General. In response to the decision, Thornberry said that Hermer was a "much more accomplished lawyer" than she could ever hope to be and that she knew Hermer would do an "outstanding job" in the position. Hermer is one of two Jewish members in Starmer's cabinet, along with Ed Miliband. On 6 July, Hermer met with Procurator General and Treasury Solicitor, Susanna McGibbon, who welcomed Hermer to the position. On 12 July, Hermer made his first visit to both Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) areas, accompanied by Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Parkinson.

On 15 July, Hermer was officially sworn in as Attorney General at the Royal Courts of Justice by the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales, Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, alongside Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood and Solicitor General Sarah Sackman. In his swearing-in speech, Hermer stated that legal analysis of the law officers would "always be guided by law not politics", and that it was their "job to speak truth to power." Hermer also said in his speech that the values they were seeking to protect were "not the property of any political party" and said that the task had "never been more urgent." He was created a life peer as Baron Hermer on 18 July 2024. On the same day, Hermer and Sackman met with Serious Fraud Office (SFO) Director, Nick Ephgrave, who welcomed them to the SFO to the first time, and they spoke about their early priorities in their positions and the ongoing cases, as well the role of the SFO in the criminal justice system. On 19 July, he had a virtual meeting with the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Andriy Kostin, with Kostin later stating that he looked forward to continuing and developing the partnership with the UK.

Israeli–Palestinian conflict
In May 2023, Hermer was amongst many lawyers who signed a Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights letter addressed to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, which called on the government to constructively participate in the International Court of Justice advisory opinion on the legal consequences of the actions of Israel in occupied Palestinian territory including East Jerusalem.

In July 2023, Hermer stated that he believed that the "continued Israeli occupation of the West bank" was "unlawful, deeply damaging to the interests of Israel and wholly contrary to the values of tikkun olam" which Hermer grew up with and continued to be guided by.

In October 2023, Hermer was amongst eight prominent Jewish lawyers, which included former Supreme Court President Lord Neuberger, who signed an open letter to call on Israel to follow international law in its response to the 7 October attacks. Later that month, in an interview with LBC whilst speaking to Sangita Myska, he said that it was "impossible to conceive" how Israel's siege was "in compliance with international law." He went onto say that "for a very long time" Israel has had "effective control" over the borders of Gaza, who he said were reliant on the "need to have electricity, water and food coming in"; and that the "cutting of that off" was "very, very difficult to reconcile with obligations of international law" and described that as a "deliberate understatement" from him.

Rwanda asylum plan
In January 2024, Hermer, along with his colleagues Helen Mountfield and Murray Hunt, criticised the illegality of the Rwanda bill in a podcast. He described the debate around immigration and asylum in the country as "toxic", and also said that Mountfield, Hunt and he were "acutely conscious" that slogans such as "stop the boats" and "control our borders" were capable of being not only "distracting", but also "dehumanising".

Labour leadership
On 30 December 2019, Hermer donated £5,000 to Keir Starmer's campaign in the 2020 Labour Party Leadership election, which was accepted on 27 January 2020.

European Union
In an interview with the Times in April 2020, when asked what law he would enact, Hermer said if would be "the European Union (Please Can We Come Back?) Act 2020". He went on to say that never had "international co-ordination and solidarity been more important."

Personal life
Hermer is Jewish and is a member of Alyth, a synagogue in Temple Fortune, London. He is fan of Welsh rugby teams. He is a father. In July 2023, he said that he had family members who were currently serving in the Israel Defense Forces. Hermer previously gave legal advice to Searchlight magazine and was also patron of Searchlight Research Associates.

Hermer is a friend of Keir Starmer, with The Guardian describing them as having a "close relationship". He is also a friend of David Wolfson, Baron Wolfson of Tredegar.

Honours and recognition

 * In 2009, Hermer took silk being appointed Queen's Counsel (now KC).
 * In August 2011, Hermer was named The Times lawyer of the week.
 * On 9 July 2024, Hermer was nominated Group litigation silk of the year in the 2024 Legal 500 Bar awards.
 * On 10 July 2024, Hermer was sworn of the Privy Council, entitling him to be styled "The Right Honourable" for life.