A clash between the UK government and the legal profession in England and Wales shows no sign of easing, according to the Gazette of England and Wales.

The row was sparked by a tweet on Wednesday from the Home Office which claimed that “activist lawyers” were undermining the deportation of migrants.

Complaint

The tweet, which has now been deleted, said current UK immigration regulations were “rigid and open to abuse allowing activist lawyers to delay and disrupt reforms”.

In an email response to a complaint from Jonathan Fortes, professor of economics at Kings College London, Home Office permanent secretary Matthew Rycroft agreed the ‘activist lawyer’ phrase should not have been used on an official government channel.

He made clear the post should not be used again from Home Office accounts or anywhere else by civil servants.

Outcry

The Gazette said the 21-second Home Office video prompted an outcry from across the legal profession, which argued that immigration lawyers were simply enforcing parliament’s own rules and upholding the rule of law.

Law Society president Simon Davis said: “We should be proud that we live in a country where legal rights cannot be overridden without due process, and we should be proud that we have legal professionals who serve the rule of law.”

Amanda Pinto QC, chair of the Bar Council, said lawyers were “merely doing their jobs, enabling people to exercise their statutory rights and defend themselves against those in power”.

Social media

But while the Home Office tweet has been taken down, the Gazette says efforts to undermine the legal sector from sections of the UK government appear to have been ramped up.

It refers to a quote from a ‘government source’ in the The Times today, which attacked “a bunch of particularly loudmouthed lawyers and barristers who seem to spend more time on social media than representing their clients”.