The justice secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has suggested that her Tory counterpart, Robert Jenrick, was guilty of “risking the collapse of trial”, after he was criticised in court for tweeting about a criminal case.
Jenrick, the shadow justice secretary, posted on social media about a murder trial a week after it had begun, making comments that the judge said were “ill thought through”.
The Liverpool Echo reported that Jenrick’s tweet, described as “appalling, outrageous and egregious” by the defence counsel, was raised in court during the trial because of fears it could prejudice proceedings and amount to contempt of court
On Wednesday, speaking to the House of Lords constitution committee about the rule of law, Mahmood said: “I do think that it’s incumbent on politicians of all stripes to play their part in maintaining the integrity of our system.
“Certainly, if a Labour politician, and somebody whose behaviour I could more directly influence through our party structures was, for example, risking the collapse of a trial, it [sic] would be repercussions.
“Needless to say, no parliamentarian should be risking a contempt [of court] and the possibility of a murderer walking free.”
While Mahmood did not refer to Jenrick by name, her comments were clearly aimed at him, coming the day after the report in the Echo.
Elias Morgan was sentenced to a minimum term of 45 years for murder. Photograph: Lancashire police/PA Media
Writing about the trial of Elias Morgan for the murder of Lenny Scott, Jenrick was said to have written on a since-deleted post on X, on 1 July: “Lenny exposed corruption and took on the gangster controlling a prison wing. He received threats to his life, but he was left unsupported. Four years later he was shot dead. That will enrage any decent person. We need radical change, now.”
His comments were raised in court, without the jury, by the prosecutor, Alex Leach KC, the following day, when he told Mr Justice Goose that “the post is problematic because it delivers as apparent fact what the prosecution relies upon”. The prosecution took steps to have it taken down and it is no longer online.
Caroline Goodwin KC, representing the defendant, said that the post “put political ambitions first and the requirements of justice second”. She also said that Jenrick, a qualified solicitor, “should know better” than to share a “hard-lined opinion” about continuing proceedings, the Echo reported. She said: “We ask he reflects carefully as a shadow lord chancellor should. We ask he thinks and he refrains from commenting further.”
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Goose reportedly told the courtroom that there was a danger in commenting as Jenrick had and that “this was ill thought through given it’s an ongoing trial”.
On Friday, Morgan was found guilty of Scott’s murder, which meant the concerns raised in court about Jenrick’s comments could be reported. On Tuesday, Goose sentenced Morgan to a life term with a minimum term of 45 years.
Mahmood told the committee: “There are some very important rules that all politicians with their huge platforms should bear in mind. It will be an absolute travesty of justice if somebody walks away from a murder charge because of social media activities and the desire to have a viral tweet.”
The Guardian has approached Jenrick for comment.
