Judge Worked For Same British Government Departments That Have Pursued Assange, by Mark Curtis

The British aren’t even trying to preserve the appearance of impartial justice in Julian Assange’s case. From Mark Curtis at consortiumnews.com:

The High Court judge who rejected Julian Assange’s appeal to stop his extradition to the U.S., is the U.K. government’s former top lawyer, reports Mark Curtis.

• Swift was entrusted to act for the Defence and Home Secretaries in at least nine legal cases
• His ‘favourite clients were the security and intelligence agencies’ while representing the government

Jonathan Swift, the High Court judge who has rejected Julian Assange’s appeal against extradition to the U.S., has a long history of working for the government departments that are now persecuting the WikiLeaks founder.

Swift, who ruled against Assange on June 6, was formerly the government’s favourite barrister.

He worked as ‘First Treasury Counsel’ – the government’s top lawyer – from 2006 to 2014, a position in which he advised and represented the government in major litigation.

Swift acted for the Defence and Home Secretaries in at least nine cases, Declassified has found. He also acted for the Cabinet Office, Justice Secretary and the Treasury, during his time as First Treasury Counsel.

Swift also represented the Foreign Office in at least two legal cases, in 2011 and 2015.

While barristers are independent, those who regularly represent the government in the highest profile cases have to be “cleared” to do so, including via security vetting, Declassified understands.

When he stepped down as First Treasury Counsel in March 2014, the attorney general’s office “expressed their appreciation for Jonathan’s valuable support, advice and advocacy during his period as FTC.”

It was reported in 2013 that Swift had been paid nearly a million pounds – £975,075 – over the previous three years for representing the government.

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