A Labour Justice Minister has been embroiled in a conflict of interest row after it was revealed her husband represented Islamist killer Fuad Awale.
Dan Squires KC, who is married to Courts Minister Sarah Sackman, represented the double killer after the Somalian was placed in a special separation unit.
Awale claimed solitary confinement breached his right to a private life under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights and alleged he was suffering from “severe depression”.
However, the Islamist extremist was placed in the special unit after he and another inmate ambushed a prison officer and threatened to kill him unless Britain released the radical cleric Abu Qatada.
Justice Secretary David Lammy agreed to pay the extremist double killer £7,500 and bolted on a taxpayer-funded legal bill of £234,000 after judges ruled Awale’s human rights had been breached.
Mr Squires KC, a barrister at Matrix chambers, also represented “extremist enforcer” Denny Da Silva in a similar human rights case.
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick heaped pressure on Mr Lammy after it was revealed Ms Sackman’s husband had represented the pair of extremists.
Mr Jenrick said: “He needs to make clear that there is no conflict of interest within his department, between his courts minister and her husband bringing the cases of these extremists against the Government.
Courts Minister Sarah Sackman is married to Dan Squires KC
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“Fuad Awale and Denny de Silva are two of the most despicable extremists currently held in our prisons.
“It would be outrageous if they were paid compensation because they disliked being prevented from radicalising other inmates or attacking officers.
“It is inexplicable why the Justice Secretary isn’t appealing the decisions or bringing forward emergency legislation to prevent this.
“He’s putting his obsessive adherence to the ECHR above the safety of prison officers, the interests of taxpayers and basic decency.”
Fuad Awale is serving a life sentence
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The Shadow Justice Secretary also urged Mr Lammy to introduce an emergency bill to exclude extremists from the remit of the ECHR.
Reform UK and the Conservative Party have both unveiled their own plans to withdraw from the Strasbourg convention.
However, Attorney General Lord Hermer compared those advocating to leave the ECHR to Nazis.
Despite Sir Keir Starmer last month urging European leaders to reform the convention, Labour continues to reject calls to leave.
Justice Secretary David Lammy faced pressure from Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick
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GETTYResponding to Mr Jenrick’s claims, a Labour spokesman said: “This claim is entirely baseless.
“Minister Sackman has had no involvement in the Government’s decisions relating to Mr Awale or in any other case brought by a prisoner.
“In Mr Awale’s case, the court hearing happened before minister Sackman was an MP. This Government will not be cowed by legal threats from prisoners.
“The safety of the public and our hard-working prison staff is our main priority, and when dangerous prisoners pose a risk they will be placed in our specialist high security units.”
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick suggested there was a potential conflict of interest
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The Ministry of Justice also stressed Ms Sackman only became Courts Minister after the judgment was handed down and had no involvement in the case.
The Finchley & Golders Green MP is believed to have complied with the ministerial code, including declaring her husband’s role as a barrister.
However, Mr Lammy is now considering a review by the terror watchdog Jonathan Hall of how security could be improved after an alleged knife attack on three prison officers by Manchester arena bomb plotter Hashem Abedi.
The Justice Secretary said: “I can assure you that significant policy and operational changes are under active consideration to ensure that the legal framework regarding the placement in separation remains robust, relevant and trusted.”