Reform of Law Officers urgently needed

12.00.00am GMT Thu 1st Feb 2007

Commenting on the current debate about the appointment and role of the Law Officers, Liberal Democrat Shadow Constitutional Affairs Secretary, Simon Hughes MP said:

"The time has come to change the constitutional position of the Law Officers.

"Law Officers should be nominated by government, but appointed and removed by Parliament, this way they become much more accountable to elected representatives.

"There is a strong case for advice from the Attorney General to be more widely available in full, not just to Government, but also to Parliament.

"We are hopefully about to embark on reform of the House of Lords, but wider constitutional reforms are needed. Reform of the role of Law Officers is also urgently needed."