Ministerial role

Attorney General

Organisations: Attorney General's Office
Current role holder: The Rt Hon Lord Hermer KC

Responsibilities

The Attorney General is chief legal adviser to the Crown and has a number of independent public interest functions, as well as overseeing the Law Officers’ departments.

Responsibilities include:

  • Overall responsibility for the work of the Attorney General’s Office and superintended departments (the Government Legal Department, the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate)
  • Specific statutory duty to superintend the discharge of duties by the Director of Public Prosecutions (who heads the Crown Prosecution Service) and the Director of the Serious Fraud Office
  • Non-statutory general oversight of the Government Legal Department, the Services Prosecuting Authority, and government prosecuting departments
  • Government’s principal legal adviser dealing with (amongst others) questions of public law, international law, human rights and devolution
  • Public interest functions, for example, reference of unduly lenient sentences to the Court of Appeal, bringing proceedings for contempt of court and intervention in certain proceedings to protect charities
  • Questions of law arising on Bills and with issues of legal policy
  • Oversight of all major international and domestic litigation involving the Government
  • Promoting the rule of law at home and internationally

The Attorney General also holds the separate office of Advocate General for Northern Ireland. The Advocate General for Scotland has specific responsibility for Scottish law matters.

Current role holder

The Rt Hon Lord Hermer KC

Richard Hermer was appointed Attorney General on 5 July 2024.

Richard Hermer KC was called to the Bar in 1993 and he took silk in 2009. He was previously Head of Chambers at Matrix and has served as a Deputy High Court Judge. 

More about this person

Previous holders of this role

  1. The Rt Hon Victoria Prentis KC

    2022 to 2024

  2. The Rt Hon Michael Ellis KC

    2022 to 2022

  3. The Rt Hon Suella Braverman KC MP

    2021 to 2022

  4. The Rt Hon Michael Ellis KC

    2021 to 2021

  5. The Rt Hon Suella Braverman KC MP

    2020 to 2021

  6. The Rt Hon Geoffrey Cox KC MP

    2018 to 2020

  7. The Rt Hon Sir Jeremy Wright KC MP

    2014 to 2018

  8. The Rt Hon Dominic Grieve KC

    2010 to 2014