STORY
Richard Hermer has left Government as Andy Burnham begins reshaping his ministerial team after replacing Sir Keir Starmer as Prime Minister. Hermer had served as Attorney General since July 2024 and was one of the most prominent legal figures brought into Government by Starmer after Labour’s general election victory.
The move forms part of a wider clear-out of senior figures associated with Starmer’s administration. David Lammy, Steve Reed, Rachel Reeves and Peter Kyle were also among those leaving Government as Burnham moved quickly to assemble his own team on his first day in Downing Street.
Hermer’s departure is politically significant because the Attorney General is the Government’s principal legal adviser and oversees bodies including the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office and the Government Legal Department. The office also has public interest functions, including references of unduly lenient sentences and interventions in certain legal proceedings.
Hermer was appointed Attorney General on 5 July 2024, shortly after Starmer entered Downing Street. A barrister who was called to the Bar in 1993 and took silk in 2009, he had previously been head of chambers at Matrix and had served as a deputy High Court judge.