The Lady Chief Justice - the head of the judiciary for England and Wales - is "deeply troubled" by last week's heated exchange between Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch in the Commons.
Baroness Carr said today that she was “deeply troubled to learn of the exchanges" during PMQs over a tribunal decision on immigration, as she declared that both politicians' statements were "unacceptable".
Last week, Kemi Badenoch slammed Keir Starmer in the Commons after it was revealed that a Palestinian family was granted the right to stay in the UK under a Ukrainian refugee scheme.
The Tory leader used her first question at PMQs to say that the court's decision was "completely wrong" and "cannot be allowed to stand", asking the Prime Minister if the Government would appeal.
The Tory leader used her first question at PMQs to say that the court's decision was “completely wrong, it cannot be allowed to stand” and asked the Prime Minister if the Government will appealParliament
Baroness Carr said today that she was “deeply troubled to learn of the exchanges" during PMQs last week
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She continued: "I think it started from a question from the Opposition suggesting that the decision in a certain case was wrong and obviously the Prime Minister’s response to that.
"Both question and the answer were unacceptable."
The top judge said that the Government must "visibly" respect and "protect the independence of the judiciary".
She further urged that should the Government disagree with decisions, they must express their thoughts "through the appellate process".
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Siding with the Opposition, Starmer replied: "I do not agree with the decision. She’s right."
The initial decision to let the Palestinian family stay after applying for a scheme designated for Ukrainian refugees came as a result of a "legal loophole".
The family of six attempting to flee Gaza has been permitted to join their brother in the UK after an immigration judge ruled that the Home Office’s rejection of their application breached their human rights.
They applied for entry to the UK using the Ukraine Family Scheme to join the father’s brother, who has lived in the UK since 2007 and is a British citizen.
The family were living in a Gazan refugee camp after their home was destroyed by an air strikeGETTYTheir appeal was refused in May last year after the Home Office concluded the requirements of the scheme had not been met.
The family, who have been granted anonymity, had an appeal against the decision dismissed by a first-tier immigration tribunal judge in September.
A further appeal has been allowed by upper tribunal judges on the grounds of Article 8 of the ECHR after a hearing in January.
The family, made up of a mother, father and four children aged seven to 18, were living in a Gazan refugee camp after their home was destroyed by an air strike.
