Evangelism and Missions

Welby Weighs In Over Abuse Of Article 50 Judges

The Archbishop of Canterbury joined calls for Theresa May to admonish newspapers that attacked the three judges who ruled Parliament must vote on triggering Article 50.

Justin Welby said he was "horrified" at the "trolling" on the Lord Thomas of Cwmgiedd, the lord chief justice, Sir Terence Etherton, the master of the rolls and Lord Justice Sales, the lord justice of appeal.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will have a vote on whether to trigger Brexit through his place in the House of Lords if the government looses its appeal.Reuters

The Daily Mail described them as "enemies of the people" in a front-page headline after the ruling that said MPs must debate and vote before Article 50 can be triggered. The government had argued Parliament did not have a say and the Prime Minister could trigger the UK's exit from the European Union without consulting the House of Commons.

Theresa May has said she will appeal the ruling.

The Daily Telegraph's front page ran the leader: "the judges versus the people" and the Daily Express said "three judges yesterday blocked Brexit". The Sun also contributed to the critism with the headline: "who do EU think you are".

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Justin Welby joined heavy criticism of the papers on Saturday with a series of tweets and a Facebook post. "British values call for honest but good disagreeing," he wrote. "We need reconciliation, not abuse.

"Those criticising the judges are not distinguishing between "Should we leave EU?" (yes we should, the vote said so) and "How legally do we do it?" (parliament confirms it)."

The Archbishop, who will have a vote should the issue reach the House of Lords, praised Dominic Grieve, the former Attorney General and QC, who described the abuse as "chilling" and reminiscent of "Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe".

Grieve urged May to calm the row and said attacks on the judiciary were "chilling and outrageous" and "smacking of the fascist state".

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After a long silence after the High Court ruling Theresa May said the "important principle" of democracy is at stake.

In an article for the Sunday Telegraph Theresa May warned there would be no "re-fighting the battles of the past" and declared there was no going back on Brexit.

The Prime Minister and her Lord Chancellor Liz Truss were also criticised for their failure to condemn the abuse. The Bar Council released a statement on Saturday afternoon saying it "condemns the serious and unjustified attacks on the judiciary arising out of the Article 50 litigation".

The statement went on: "It regrets the lack of public statement by the Lord Chancellor condemning these attacks and calls upon the Lord Chancellor to do so as a matter of urgency.

"A strong independent judiciary is essential to a functioning democracy and to upholding the rule of law."

Hours later Truss released her own statement. "The independence of the judiciary is the foundation upon which our rule of law is built and our judiciary is rightly respected the world over for its independence and impartiality," she said.

"In relation to the case heard in the High Court, the Government has made it clear it will appeal to the Supreme Court. Legal process must be followed."

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