The media has declared war on the judiciary. What now?

Media Integrity

Today's front pages should be taken seriously

 

Pointing out that attacks on the judiciary are an early indicator of democratic collapse feels melodramatic, hysterical even.

All the same, today’s front pages demonstrate that Britain is moving — and has already moved — in a very disturbing direction, and that must be taken seriously.

The Mail declares that the three high court judges who ruled that parliament should vote on Article 50 are ‘enemies of the people’, accusing them of having ‘declared war on democracy’.

‘The judges versus the people,’ the Telegraph splashes, simultaneously attempting to soften the messages and fan the flames.

Its front page also features a comment piece from Nigel Farage, in which the UKIP leader claims that ‘rich elites’ are ‘thwarting’ the will of the people — by which he means that citizens are seeking recourse from the courts, and judges are doing their jobs and upholding the law.

The Sun, meanwhile, chooses to attack the citizen claimants who brought the case, rather than the judges themselves. It’s already been reported that claimant Gina Miller has received rape and death threats following the ruling.

These efforts to undermine the legitimacy of the judiciary are serious and disturbing. Both the press and the courts are vital components of a functioning democracy and, while they may vehemently disagree, each should respect the other’s role.

These three judges were not acting as rich elites, or activists, or europhiles. They were doing the jobs, for which they are highly qualified, and shouldn’t be vilified as a result. (remember that yesterday the Mail saw fit to highlight that one of the three, Sir Terence Etherton, has the temerity to be ‘openly gay’).

This is also about more than simply these three judges, or these particular claimants. With these acts of public intimidation, the press and the hard right send a warning to anyone else who might question the government’s approach to Brexit — ‘speak out and you will get the same treatment’.

Of course, it’s unlikely that these sentiments herald the onset of fascism in the UK, but they do contribute to a dangerously febrile political atmosphere. It’s not so long ago that an MP was killed in the street by a man who espoused precisely this rhetoric of treachery, seemingly believing that Jo Cox, too, was ‘an enemy of the people.’

With a snap election looking increasingly likely, the national mood is only going to become more heated. Before that happens, the editors of the right-wing press should reflect on the potential consequences of sowing hysteria and division.

Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin is editor of Left Foot Forward. Follow her on Twitter.

See also: Daily Mail huffs about ‘openly gay’ Article 50 judge – before line disappears

No related posts.

17 Responses to “The media has declared war on the judiciary. What now?”

  1. Michael WALKER

    “Can the editors be charged for treason?”

    What is treasonable about criticising judges?

    Please quote the law which says we can have free speech as long as judges are not criticised.

  2. Peter Dow

    The Queen’s judges in this kingdom ARE INDEED “the enemies of the people”.

    Any journalist might know all about the enemy judges if they’ve spent any time at all in jail on the orders of one of the Queen’s bogus bench-men or bench-women.

    Or even if journalists or their newspaper or broadcasting organisation have had a judges’ gagging order served on them, threatening them with contempt of court and jail if they publish some information they felt was important to be published, or if they’ve had a damages award against them for what they have had published.

    Let’s not forget that the Dunblane Primary School massacre wasn’t prevented because the fear of legal action deterred newspapers from publishing the concerns about Hamilton, which if they had been published could have led to him losing his firearms certificate and his right to hold the guns with which he killed the children.
    http://scot.tk/dunblane.htm

    So the Queen’s judges and their defamation laws cost the lives of the children of Dunblane – and the lives of other innocents lost at many other preventable disasters too no doubt.

    Of course the Queen’s judges are the enemies of the people.

  3. GodfreyR

    The Daily Mail often prints what the majority thinks.

  4. Nigel Farage plans 100,000 march on Supreme Court for Article 50 decision | Left Foot Forward

    […] See: The media has declared war on the judiciary. What now? […]

  5. Mick

    Yes. And so often the Left and Remainers are just the faces at the window, looking bewildered. And desperate to impose their will.

Comments are closed.